Feel The Noize
by Hellvetica
Summary: It's the 1980's and slacker musician, Miroku, can't seem to stop getting into trouble. It all started with one can of spray paint mixed with Generation X angst and a penchant for heavy metal, booze, and babes. Then, Miroku met Sango, a bodacious babe with a past involving a spree killer and a cult-led murder mystery over a decade old. [AU] [Rated M for adult situations.]
1. Detained

**"Feel The Noize" - An Inuyasha Fanfiction **

Obligatory Disclaimer: I don't own anything, this is a work of fanfiction based on InuYasha published by Rumiko Takahashi/Shogakukan/and Sunrise Inc. All rights reserved to the respective copyright holders.

This is a work of fiction, names, locations and the like are *mostly* made up for entertainment purposes only. Any likenesses to people, places, or locations is entirely coincidental.

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**Authors Note: **This work was previously published to FFN under the title Institutionalized. This fic is my baby and sadly, it needed an overhaul because a lot of misfortune happened to me while I was writing it and I'd like to give it the attention it deserves once again. Enjoy!

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**Chapter 1 - Detained**

****Portillo Beach, California, 1986****

Miroku Hoshima always wondered what the back of a police cruiser looked like but he didn't expect it to be quite like this. Funny, he imagined it would smell more like vomit and piss. Unsurprisingly, it still smelled like vomit and piss in the backseat, although the smell was very faint. The pine scent of a little tree air freshener hanging on the rear-view mirror seemed to be doing a pretty good job of masking it. Miroku sighed, it was 3am on a Saturday and while his band mates made a hasty retreat from under the bridge, he was left behind with the can of red spray paint firmly clutched in his right hand. He knew it was a bad idea to tag the underpass but like a dumb ass who caves to peer pressure, he went along with it. Bad enough that his parents already considered him a fuck-up for never applying to college or getting a job after High School. Add to the fact that he was very lazy and often spent his time staying up late, jerking it, or drawing heavy metal logos in a notebook for a band that probably will never make it anywhere, at least if his father had something to say about it. Although somewhat of a pragmatist in his daily life, Miroku was also a dreamer and determined to make something of himself, something big.

Although he and his younger sister Rin were born stateside, Miroku's parents faced many hardships for the so-called 'American Dream'. In the sixties they had left Japan for California, taking refuge with his uncle, Mushin. Within just a few years the young couple started a family consisting of a son and a daughter. After finding their footing in the US, Miroku's parents moved their growing family to Portillo Beach, a suburb of San Diego. Located south of La Jolla hills and often overlooked as a sleepy middle-class enclave for retirees, beachcombers, and families. Though in the summer months the weather brought tourists and media crews for the annual Portillo Beach Jamboree and surf-off, quite literally the only thing that put the town on the map. Their family home was of modest size and only about a 20 minute walk away from the beach itself. At home, Miroku's mother, Chieko, worked diligently as a homemaker and his father, Kyo, worked a monotonous job as a claims adjuster for an automobile insurance firm. His parents really wanted nothing but the best for him and his younger sister even if it meant sucking the fun out of every second of his childhood. It was always, stand up straight, tuck in your shirt, wipe that grin off of your face. Hardly ever did he hear the words. "Well done son!" or "That's my Boy!" like any other normal child would hear from their parents. Nope, screw that! His parents didn't know the meaning of the word praise, with them it was always "Try harder." or "Why have you messed up?"

For his parents, it was really too bad all their high expectations for their only son backfired in the worst way possible. Miroku had never been one to listen to authority and always tried his damnedest to push back on the rules and regulations that his parents set forth.

Miroku remembered being around the age of six when his dad gave him a violin, expecting him to practice until he became some kind of prodigy, like most parents with high expectations would. As much as his parents poked and prodded him to practice daily, their plan would never come to fruition. Although Miroku was skilled, he lacked the passion to continue. He found the air of classical music stuffy, and boring, and the fact that his father made him practice it for an hour a day, five times a week was enough to make him hate the violin even more. It was then that a fed-up preteen Miroku decided to ditch the violin for an instrument that his father would definitely not approve of; the electric guitar. He remembered the first time he caught a glimpse of it,hung high on the wall of the music shop, a flashy black and white Gibson flying V. He knew right then and there he had to have it. Thoughts of that beautiful hunk of wood, metal, and strings consumed his mind. Only one problem, how was a kid like him, too young to get a real job, ever going to afford the price tag? Was he going to mow lawns or clean out gutters? Probably not. Hard labor simply wasn't Miroku's style. There was another, more thrilling way to get the cash he so desperately needed, he would gamble for it.

He started out small, games of dice near the blacktop at his middle school and eventually card games like poker and gin rummy. Luck was definitely on his side because within less than four months, Miroku had raked in enough cash to buy his dream machine. When he first held the guitar in his hands, he felt like King Arthur pulling Excalibur out of the stone, the guitar begging him to play her. He couldn't believe it was finally his!

Twelve year-old Miroku straightened his KISS army belt buckle before slinging the guitar strap over his shoulder. He'll never forget the horrified look on his dad's face when he brought the instrument home that chilly October night. He would also never forget the blind, seething, rage of his father when he found the remains of the busted up violin buried in the backyard a week later.

Music was Miroku's calling and seven years later at age nineteen his passion had still not diminished in the slightest. If anything it got bigger as delusions of grandeur swam around in his mind. Miroku the badass rock-star with a Hollywood Hills mansion, lots of beautiful women at his beck and call. Redheads, brunettes, and even blondes, he'd have his pick of them all. Along with a fat cat MTV promo with royalties from his platinum debut album coming out of the wazoo to boot.

Outside of the police cruiser the officer shone his flashlight into the window where Miroku was handcuffed.

"Don't even think of trying anything stupid while I start the vehicle."

The officer stomped out a lit cigarette butt on the pavement as he jostled his way into the driver's seat. Fidgeting, he tried not to focus on the officer driving the car. The cop wasn't a tall man by any means but he had enough heft on his stocky frame to pin down a teenager like Miroku with relative ease if needed.

The drive to the station felt like it took an eternity. Miroku sat in a quiet jail cell for hours with another man who was obviously blacked out drunk when another officer walked up to the cell. Unlike the officer that arrested him, this one seemed stern, powerful, and by the look in his eyes wasn't ready to deal with any kind of shit from Miroku.

"You're free to go. Your father is waiting for you in the lobby."

The name 'D. Sato' gleamed off the officer's brass nametag. Miroku nervously gulped, knowing that the officer was Japanese like himself, meant that the man probably had a good talk with his old man beforehand. He felt his hands go sweaty at the thought of facing his father.

Miroku walked into the lobby of the police station, Kyo Hoshima sat in one of the chairs, arms folded with a look in his eyes that was somewhere between, 'I'm gonna murder you when we get home' and 'Son, you have failed me.'

Miroku could only sigh some more. This was going to be a long night.

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**80's Mix Tape: Track 1 **

Judas Priest: Breaking the Law


	2. Judgment Day

**Chapter 2: Judgment Day **

Three weeks after the spray paint incident under the bridge, Miroku was issued a court summons. He hung his head nervously as he scuffed his way into the courthouse. Begrudgingly, his father had accompanied him, neither of them saying a word to each other from the car-ride onward. Miroku straightened his tie as he looked around the large lobby of the courthouse, it was pretty much barren at this time of day. Completely empty except him, his father, and a couple of people standing in line at the courtesy window to get documentation. There were also some women at the help desk whom he could assume were receptionists. Nothing special to look at there. One of the ladies was middle aged, overweight, with horribly dyed red hair. Noticeable gray streaks were peppered throughout her over-teased, ''I used an entire can of Aqua-Net'' dry locks. She was busy on the phone bantering with someone who obviously was not in the mood for any kind of legal discourse. The other receptionist at the desk was much younger with permed light brown hair and a rather ample bosom with cleavage that refused to stay hidden behind a delicate white lace camisole paired under a matching blouse and a shoulder-padded mauve velveteen blazer. Miroku soon found himself staring at the woman's chest finding that despite damn near perfect breasts; her face left much to be desired with a nose too long for her face shape, lips too thin, and beady green eyes that had a murky hue to them reminiscent of swamp marsh.

_What a waste,_ Miroku thought to himself.

Miroku sat down next to his father in one of the baby-barf green lobby chairs. Silence was still rearing it's ugly head. Then again, he could only imagine how disappointed his old man was with him. In fact, he considered himself lucky that his old man was the sort of person that internalized his anger. Unlike his mother who was ready to murder him with a soup ladle when he returned from jail. But like any doting mother, she was quick to forgive. Any other parents might have kicked him out of the house indefinitely; especially since he wasn't a minor. This place was seriously trying his patience as Miroku rocked back and forth in his chair, stopping when he heard the chair squeak. In between getting the silent treatment from his father, the annoying elevator muzak playing softly over the speakers, and most importantly the lack of anything available for him to entertain himself with. At least other places had old magazines on a table somewhere. The only things of any interest in this pit were two vending machines in the corner, one had snack items in it and the other soda. His boredom was giving him the munchies. At that time he wished he would have brought in some of the spare change he kept in his Camaro.

His father finally broke the silence.

"I thought I told you to cut your hair." Kyo growled, his hand skimmed over Miroku's short jet-black ponytail.

Miroku cocked his head away from his dad's hand, he was definitely not in the mood for one of his dad's 'reasons why you are a terrible son' rants.

"I already told you, nobody touches my hair, especially not that senile excuse for a barber you go to."

"You look like a delinquent! First it was the earrings, then the spikes, and now this ponytail. Why must you constantly embarrass me out in public?"

Miroku scoffed. "Is that all you have to say?"

The silence between them became apparent once again.

Hours passed as Miroku patiently waited for his name to be called. In the meantime he had found a rubber band that one of the receptionists must have dropped. He spent a couple of minutes fidgeting with it, making the Batmobile and a star which were pretty much the only rubber band tricks he remembered how to do from elementary school. Then the rubber band snapped in two, successfully ending his only form of entertainment in the lobby. He didn't even bother picking the rubber band remains up from the floor. Time dragged on and it seemed that the muzak was finally starting to grow on him for some unexplained reason. He cocked his head back and slowly dozed off thinking of how good a plate of Belgian waffles with whipped cream slathered in strawberry syrup from Red Roosters sounded right now. His bout of slumber didn't last long as he could hear the tapping of high heels coming closer towards him.

"Miroku Hoshima" A nasally yet oddly feminine voice called out.

"Judge Kleburne would like to see you now."

Miroku and his father rose out of their seats; following the woman to their assigned courtroom.

Miroku let out another sigh "Let's just get this over with."

The courtroom was smaller than he originally thought it was going to be. He expected the space to be much bigger like in the courtroom reality shows that would come on TV. He smiled remembering that Rin really hated those kind of shows. So, to tease her he would hog the remote from her. It was so cute the way her face got red and her cheeks puffed like a chipmunk. Then she would scream for mom or dad and that was usually Miroku's cue to go back to his own TV in his room.

_Girls are so much fun to tease_, he silently mused.

Miroku stood up straight, his eyes on Judge Julius Kleburne. Judge Kleburne was a tall, husky man most likely in his mid-sixties. His dark skin was marred with liver-spots and he sported a semi-bald head with two white puffs of hair at each ear. This man had obviously seen better days judging by the scowl on his face. Miroku gulped. He feared the worst.

The judge started to speak. "Miroku Hoshima, you have pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor of vandalism."

Miroku tried his best to not take his eyes off the judge while the judge contemplated on his sentence.

"Alright Mr. Spray-Can here's what we are going to do. Unlike a lot of my fellow judges I am a firm believer that the youth of today can be redeemed, after all you are only young once and this just so happens to be your first offense. So Instead of sending you to jail where you will most likely become more of a punk, I'm going to send you somewhere you will definitely not want to act a fool. My sentence for you is to spend the next three months in mandatory community service doing janitorial work at a privately-funded mental health facility. You want to act like a crazy person, you can work around the crazy people in rehab."

"Now before I dismiss the court, I would like to point out that If I ever catch you in my courtroom again Mr. Hoshima, you will go to jail."

Judge Kleburne slammed his gavel.

Miroku unclasped his sweaty palms as he and his father slowly exited the courtroom, both men were extremely relieved that Jail-time was not in Miroku's future.

* * *

When Miroku got home, he looked over the paperwork explaining the details of his sentence. He was to spend every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday for three months at a facility called 'Silent Pines' he snorted with laughter at that cornball name. It sounded like something out of a really bad comedy starring Chevy Chase. Of course the sentence meant that he couldn't practice with the guys at Jimmy's house. Jimmy McSpadden was the vocalist of Gladius, A band started by his friend Antonio "Stony" Sanchez and the Man who would have been Miroku's mentor into the world of heavy metal, Frank Weiss. Miroku considered Gladius like an extended family of sorts due to the fact that all of the members practically grew up together, the exception being the bassist, Andrew Simms who just joined a few months ago after the former vocalist, Randall Hyman double-crossed the band after Frank's death by stealing songs for his side project, Acid Flesh. Thus Jimmy took the reins as vocalist, Miroku on lead guitar, and Andy on Bass.

Not practicing for a while was just fine with Miroku since he considered Gladius losing precious practice time from their lead guitarist perfect karma for ditching him at the bridge three weeks ago. Miroku sat the stack of papers down on his bed as he undressed out of the stuffy yuppie clothes he had to wear to the trial. As Miroku undressed he glanced at himself in what little uncovered space the mirror attached to the inside of his closet had. Miroku's stature was about average height at about five foot eight, with chin-length jet-black hair, deep blue eyes, and lightly tanned skin from the SoCal sun on an otherwise fair complexion. Body-wise he had a lean, athletic build, due to his years of lifting weights at home and hitting up the skate park regularly. Not to mention all the brawls that he'd get into kept him in good shape as well. Miroku dropped out of learning proper martial arts years ago, but he was scrapper and a damn good fighter, regardless. During his high school years he'd often catch girls swooning over his body on the sideline while he fought other, much bigger, men. Most likely because he had a defined chest with visible abs when his shirt was off. As far as his love life was concerned, Miroku never really had a hard time getting women to sleep with him but commitment was something he definitely had to work on if he wanted a girlfriend that stuck around long-term.

Yawning from the exhaustion he felt at the courthouse, Miroku leaned forward and picked up his jeans off the floor and gave them a quick whiff, still clean. But something was missing, he glanced over his shoulder to see his bullet belt with the skull buckle dangling on his dresser. Once he got his jeans and belt on he walked to his closet and pulled out a fresh black band shirt. Today's choice was a fairly new Anthrax shirt that was begging to be worn-in. He pulled his arms into the sleeves of his t-shirt as he yanked it over his head. Then Miroku dug in the back of his closet, feeling around for his much loved battle jacket. He soon felt the familiar edge of the spikes on the lapel. Ah, there it was! Apparently still well hidden from his mom's grabby hands. It will be a cold day in Hell before he allowed her to clean his baby with that beastly washing machine. What part of **HAND WASH ONLY** did she not understand? Rin liked to call it his ''smelly hobo biker vest'' on account of all of the patches, buttons, studs and spikes he had lovingly tacked and sewn on the now-faded denim. Some of his favorite patches being his Slayer centerpiece back-patch, a rare Judas Priest patch he got off of Stony, and the Mercyful Fate patch he had McSpadden pick up for him last summer on a family trip to Edinburgh, Scotland among other assorted patches that were hard to find in the states. He quickly adjusted his vest on his body. Yep, it felt so righteous.

Miroku plopped down on his waterbed enjoying the swishy sounds it made as he reached for the phone on his nightstand. Thank Buddha his parents installed extra phone lines, the last thing he needed was to fight with Rin over phone privileges. He knew how girls, especially preteen girls such as Rin were when it came to phone calls. He picked up the phone and began to dial Jimmy.

Jimmy answered on the other end. "McSpadden's Mortuary, you stab 'em we bag em."

"Hey Jimmy it's Miroku."

"Whassup man, how have you been? How was court, you going to go to jail?" Jimmy replied.

"Not even, I got off with community service, shit blows."

"For how long?"

"Three months dude. Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday I have to ''volunteer'' at this retarded hospital for junkies."

"That's pretty harsh man, well I guess It's better than Jail right?"

"Yeah, I guess so, I mean three months at a crazy house vs who knows how long in a cold cell crammed with other guys and cold tasteless food, I believe I lucked out on that one huh?"

Jimmy laughed. "Hells yeah you did! And besides it's only three months...It will all be over before you know it."

Jimmy and Miroku proceeded into their conversation, eventually talking about the band's practice schedule and supplies they will need for a breakout gig they were hoping to score from one of the local venues around town. So far they had been less than successful. The only other option was to enter a battle of the bands contest at a nightclub called the Meridian where all of the wavers and goth chicks hung out at. It wasn't really their first choice of venue but the band realized that beggars can't be choosers and that they would be happy to take what they could get, If they could even get it. Miroku stretched out his legs and let out another deep yawn. Waking up at 7am on a Tuesday and spending 4 hours in court was definitely not his style. Miroku said his goodbyes to Jimmy on the other end and proceeded to crawl under his blankets for a restful sleep, knowing full well that it would be tomorrow morning when he eventually decided to wake up. He could hear Rin in her bedroom next door singing at the top of her lungs to a Cyndi Lauper song on full blast. He tapped loudly on the wall in between their rooms.

"Hey cut it out, I'm trying to get some sleep!" he yelled loud enough so she could hear him.

Rin only turned the music up louder. Miroku grabbed his pillow and covered his ears with it, no use fighting it now. The last thing he wanted was an angry Rin in his room. Minutes later his exhausted, sleep deprived, body finally took over and he dozed off into dreamland. He was still thinking of those Belgian Waffles.

That following Thursday Miroku woke up at 5:30 am. He hadn't woken up that early since he was still in high school. He scrambled out of bed to get dressed and grab a cup of coffee downstairs. After all, in just two and a half short hours 'Silent Pines' would be waiting for him. He flipped on the TV to see what the local news had to say about traffic and to ogle Channel 8's really cute weather girl. So far it was the usual same old bullshit, traffic backed up on IH 805 because some dickweed was in too much of a hurry. Already he was wired on too much coffee so he decided to relax a bit. Miroku reached under his bed and grabbed a small rusted-out tin Star Wars lunch box. The box held his stash inside. He walked over to the window and lit some incense, hoping like hell that his parents would think that he was only meditating and that the smell of reefer mixed with sandalwood wouldn't tip them off. He stuffed his marbled glass pipe, lit it, and took a couple of hits. After he was finished he lay back on his bed with his headphones on admiring the numerous band posters and pinups of bikini-clad babes on his wall. Before he knew it his high had worn off and it was nearly time to go. Miroku grabbed the keys off his dresser. He also made sure to put on the finger-less black leather glove he used to cover the hideous birthmark on his right hand. Miroku walked outside to find his Camaro waiting for him on the curb. He sat in the driver's seat muttering "It's only for three months, It's only for three months" under his breath as he started the car and drove into the neighborhood.

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**80's Slang/General Glossary **

**Aqua Net**\- A brand of hairspray that had it's heyday in the 80's with the big hair craze.

**Muzak**\- The really boring music you hear in elevators, waiting rooms, or while on hold. It was really popular for public places to play this in the 70's and 80's

**Yuppie**\- Stands for ''Young Urban Professional'' Think Patrick Bateman from ''American Psycho''

**Battle Jacket or ''Kutte''**\- A wardrobe staple of the metalhead of yesterday and today. Usually some kind of denim vest decorated to the nines in band patches, spikes/studs, and pins.

**Wavers**\- 80's slang for the scenesters of the New Wave movement. Think of Molly Ringwald's character in ''Pretty in Pink''

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**80's Mix Tape: Track 2 **

Mötley Crüe – Livewire.


	3. Sango and April 11th

**Chapter 3 – Sango and April 11th**

**Honolulu, Hawaii, 1980**

_Twelve year-old Sango Sato held her father's hand tightly as she watched the firefighters work on what once had been her family's home. Her face ashen and sooty, her clothes didn't fare much better. She looked down to her right, her seven year-old brother, Kohaku was screaming bloody murder. His hands firmly gripped to their father's left pant leg. _

**''MOMMY, I WANT MY MOMMY!''**

_Sango released her hold on her father's hand, instead opting to cradle the distraught boy in her arms. Tears streamed down her face. Her little brother wasn't crying because the house was destroyed, he cried because he knew that their mom was never coming back despite how much he screamed for her. _

_Sango saw everything. She heard everything. She heard the window break. She heard the heavy boots of a stranger enter her home. She heard her mother scream. She saw him, she saw him pin her mother down, she saw him writhe on top of her defenseless mother; his hand cupped over her mouth as he lifted the hem of her dress, parting her legs. Sango tiptoed past the scene hugging her plush koala bear as a retainer for her screams, tears welled in her eyes as she tried to make as little noise as possible not to tip the intruder off. She inched her way into her little brother's room. he was thankfully, still sleeping. Trying her best not to shake him around too much she carefully lifted him off the bed and into the closet. She carefully wedged herself into the closet as well, locking it from the inside with a coat hanger. She hoped like hell the intruder would not find their hiding place. _

_Then she heard the gunshot. _

_Kohaku awoke from his slumber. _

_''Sissy, why are we in the closet? What was that noise?'' _

_Sango held her brother tight, handing him the stuffed animal for comfort. ''Keep your voice down.'' she whispered. _

_The heavy footsteps got louder and closer. The intruder was in the room, only mere inches away from the closet. _

_Sango held her breath; Her heart thumped rapidly in her chest. _

_She heard the footsteps leave the room; The bad man was gone. _

_Sango and Kohaku remained in the closet. Then they smelled the smoke seeping through the crack of the door. That could only have meant one thing, their house was on fire. Sango touched the doorknob, thankfully, it wasn't hot, at least not yet. She carefully unlocked the door and peered out. Smoke was everywhere. She knew that she and Kohaku had to escape, and fast. She ducked her head out of the closet; grabbing his hand tightly. _

_''Kohaku, whatever you do, do not let go of my hand. Do you understand?'' _

_Kohaku nodded. _

_''Close your eyes Kohaku. Do not open them until we get out of the house'' _

_Sango did not want to have her brother see anything that would scar him for life. She pulled Kohaku along as she ran, heading for the side door adjacent to the kitchen. Then she saw it, Sango's body froze in terror. _

_On the kitchen floor lay their mother in a puddle of blood; her head split open from the gunshot they heard earlier. The strands of her long dark brown hair were completely soaked in blood. Her big brown eyes, once full of life were glassed over. While the flames in the rest of the house were rising so was Sango's anger. What kind of sick monster would do that to her mother? Her kind, sweet, gentle mother. Kohaku started to cough. Not _wasting_ any more time, Sango bolted out of the door. She skimmed the backyard for any sign of the intruder; he was nowhere to be found. She ran until she reached the back fence hoisting Kohaku over it. Sango did not look back as she placed her feet in the metal links to climb over the fence. Once on the other side she frantically ran to their next-door neighbor's front porch with Kohaku in tow. He opened his mouth to speak. _

_''Sissy, Can I open my eyes now?'' _

_''yes, Kohaku, It's okay now.'' _

_Although it really wasn't okay in the least bit. The flames had already engulfed an entire side of their home and were quickly spreading. Kohaku knocked on the neighbor's door. The elderly man answered, saw the house on fire. There was panic behind his aged black eyes. He quickly motioned for the two children to get inside. The elderly man called the fire department, then the kids' father, who was on duty at the police station. Both parties arrived at breakneck speed. The last thing Sango remembered of that fateful night was getting into her dad's police cruiser and never returning back. _

* * *

That was six years ago today. In the month of April, on the eleventh day. Sango however, remembered it like it was yesterday. April 11th, how she hated this day; she would rather it didn't exist at all.

Sango sat on her bed with her knees tucked into her chest. Her mind tried thinking of other things like how her final exams would be coming up on her very soon and how much she needed to study. After all, she was eighteen, a senior, and a prime candidate for valedictorian at her high school.

Sango rose off of her bed, lazily smoothing out her comforter and sheets. Her little cat, Kirara, remained sound asleep, curled in the corner of the bed. Right now she envied that lucky, lazy, cat. How she wanted to just stay home today and do nothing but sleep all day. But alas, she couldn't. She needed that perfect attendance streak on her record if she was to get into a decent criminal justice program at her university of choice. Ever since the night of the fire, she wanted to become an attorney. Although normally Sango was introverted and kind of quiet, she considered herself an excellent debater. The medals and trophies she accumulated from numerous debate tournaments proved it too. Sango really had a knack for arguing; her father would always tease her about that, claiming that the reason she never really had a serious boyfriend was because she would argue them to death.

Still partly asleep, Sango walked into her bathroom. Her hand turned the cold water knob on the sink to brush her teeth and scrub her face. She grabbed her toothbrush and slathered it with toothpaste, brushing in a circular motion on her front teeth, bottom teeth, and molars, and tongue; spitting the toothpaste out in the sink when done. Picking up the soft chenille washcloth, she grabbed her favorite facial scrub and washed her face, noticing that the huge zit she had on her forehead under her bangs was finally starting to clear up. Thank God, the little bugger had been driving her nuts for nearly two weeks. She grabbed the handle of the drawer under the sink that held her cosmetics and toiletries. Feeling her hand around in the drawer she found what she was looking for; her mascara, eyeliner, and eye shadow palette. Sango really wasn't the type of girl who wore a lot of makeup, she hated lipstick. It felt like wearing candle wax to her. And when she wore foundation and blush she felt like a clown. Her eyelashes were already long so she opted to use mascara with only a touch of coral colored eye shadow on her eyelids. A flick of winged eyeliner accentuated her large, almond-shaped, eyes.

''Now where is that damn brush hiding at?'' she huffed.

Spotting her brush sitting on the back of her toilet, Sango started to brush her long, dark chestnut brown hair. She held a small elastic pony-holder in her mouth so she wouldn't lose it down the sink. She pulled her hair back into a high ponytail securing it with the elastic and finally, a white ribbon. Stealthily, she took one last look in the mirror to make sure her hair and makeup looked okay. Although she was a little on the short side at only five foot three, Sango had a curvaceous, toned body that was highlighted by the fact that she was heavily involved in martial arts as well as school sports where she was captain of St. Catherine's volleyball and softball teams. At home she would often spend her summers on the beach surfing the waves. A ritual that followed her from her childhood in Hawaii. Sango glanced at herself in the mirror again, sighing that the tan she worked so hard for over spring break was already starting to fade. She never quite understood why she could spend hours in the sun but her tan never seemed to last beyond a week at most. Maybe she was just one of the unlucky girls that was doomed to stay pale forever.

Quickly, Sango undressed out of her pajamas and grabbed a clean pair of pink panties and a clean bra from the drawer, eventually tossing her previously worn undergarments on the bathroom floor. She would deal with those later. Right now she had to get dressed for school. She reached for her school uniform hanging off the back of her bedroom door. It was a pretty okay uniform, nothing special. Her uniform consisted of a white short-sleeve peter-pan collared blouse with a skinny blue ribbon to tie under the collar for decoration, a black sweater-vest with her school's emblem just above the right breast, and lastly a greyish-blue above-the-knee length plaid skirt paired with white knee socks and black penny-loafers.

Sango slid into her clean panties and fastened her bra in the back. Then came the uniform. First, she put on a plain white camisole to go under the blouse, then the blouse itself. Following the blouse came the skirt and sweater-vest. Next were her socks and shoes, then finally the skinny blue ribbon under the collar of her blouse.

Sometimes Sango envied the students who went to the public schools without a strict dress code, Although her uniform was nice, it was really annoying sometimes, especially when it happened to be a fairly windy day, she would spend most of her time trying to hold her skirt down from flying up. Then she realized she _chose_ to go to an all-girls Catholic high school only because Saint Catherine's had some of the best academic programs this side of San Diego, and the school was close enough to her neighborhood to where she could walk there in under ten minutes without the need to take the bus like her middle school aged brother. And the best part about going to St. Catherines? There weren't any boys to harass her like in a public school. Sango shuddered to think that if she went to Buchanan High with the rest of the teens in her neighborhood that her middle school reputation would've followed her and that was the last thing she wanted.

Aside from attending a faith-based school, Sango wasn't religious not even in the slightest sense. Her father, Dan, was a terrible Catholic, it had been at least half a decade since he attended mass or any church function. He never really forced religion on her and Kohaku. Frankly, she liked it better that way. Though sometimes she felt like his job as a police officer replaced his religion on account of the fact that he was often overworked in his small precinct.

Sango looked down at her clock-radio, it was already 6:30 am. ''Good, that means I still have plenty of time to make breakfast before dad and Kohaku leave.''

She grabbed her leather backpack satchel off of her doorknob as she walked the way from her bedroom, down the hall, into the kitchen. Her dad and Kohaku were already at the table predictably waiting for her slowpoke butt to start working on making breakfast. She rushed over to the coffee pot on the counter and poured her dad a cup of coffee, making sure not to spill it. She had a tendency to fill the cup just a tad bit too full.

''Thanks sweetie.'' Dan said, setting down the newspaper he was reading to take a sip of the freshly-poured cup of joe.

Sango glanced over at her brother who was nervously trying to finish his math homework from last night before the school bus arrived.

''You still want pancakes, Kohaku?'' Sango asked.

Kohaku nodded, making an inaudible grunt of sorts.

Sango's eyes narrowed. ''I'll take that as a yes.''

She began to mix a couple of eggs into the pancake batter: not before making sure the griddle was heating up just right. Taking a rubber spatula, she measured out eight even discs of batter on the griddle's surface. She carefully flipped them until they were evenly golden on both sides. She opened the cabinet above the stove top, pulling down three plates. Once she filled each of the plates with the pancakes, Sango sat down to eat breakfast with the rest of her family.

Reaching for the butter dish at the center of the table, Dan started to speak.

''Sango.''

''Yes, dad?''

''Are you planning on going to Silent Pines after school today?, you know you don't have to go if you don't want to. Considering what day It is I'm sure the school will give you leeway on your extra curricular volunteer work for today.''

''No dad, I actually want to go.'' Sango managed to reply in between mouthfuls of pancake and orange juice.

''Are you sure?''

''Yes. Besides, I need to get this done as quickly as possible. I have more important things to attend to besides volunteer hours for my college applications. I still have to visit that Elmwood prep girl I injured at the volleyball playoffs yesterday before I even think about setting foot into silent pines.''

''I suppose you need me to drop you off there as well?''

Sango nodded. ''Yes, dad.''

She looked at the clock in the kitchen, it was 7:00 am. Her daily cue to leave for school. Sango kissed her father on the cheek. Her head hung low once she was out the door. Sango really hated April 11th.

* * *

Upon arriving at the entrance gate of Silent Pines, Miroku was pleasantly surprised. The facility was friggin huge! He had originally imagined it to look more like a hospital but this place was like a resort. Pine trees surrounded the many acres on the property as it overlooked one of the larger north side beaches from atop a rather steep hill. He could see the surfers at the bottom catching some pretty big waves. Miroku felt envious of the young men below him. He wished he was surfing instead of stuck at Silent Pines. Miroku followed his map of the facility. To his right was a very large golf course with sharply-dressed businessmen riding around in golf carts. He wondered if that was a part of the facility as well. Once he found a suitable parking spot, he put the Camaro in park. Reaching into his jeans pockets, he pulled out the map of the facility with the instructions for his employment. The first thing he was supposed to do was report to a woman named Julie Garcia, assuming her to be one of the human resources people there.

The main building of Silent Pines looked like a giant ski cabin with the exterior of the place looking convincingly rustic yet upscale at the same time. The windows of the main cabin were fairly modest wood framed ones, the biggest being at the very front of the building. To his left he could see the outside of a medical-center behind the main building. Both buildings were connected by a long, covered walkway with lots of exit points. It was then that he realized that Silent Pines was split up into two parts, a recreational center and golf course in the front, and medical facilities in the back. Despite sharing the same name, the two weren't affiliated. Meaning that Judge Kleburne was bluffing about the crazy people remark. Miroku figured that even a Judge wouldn't have medical clearance to allow him to work there.

He opened his map up again to make sure he was at the right spot. Miroku would be doing most of his work in and outside the recreational area since he clearly didn't have clearance for the medical facility as a big **DO NOT ENTER 'X'** was marked across the illustration of the hospital on the map that came in Judge Kleburne's paperwork packet. After skimming a little bit more of his surroundings he entered the revolving doors to the inside of the recreational center.

Once he was on the inside he found his hunch to be right, this place was _definitely_ upscale. The first thing he noticed when he walked through the door was a giant indoor rock pond, complete with a waterfall fountain. Above the fountain was a second floor, he could see some of the recreation center employees working. They all wore what looked like a light blue polo-shirt paired with matching khaki shorts. Most of them were around his age, college age. Although there were a few females in the bunch, the employees were mostly guys from what he could see. Focusing his eyes back to the center of the lobby he spotted the front desk, unlike the fugly receptionists at the courthouse; the women who were stationed at this front desk were very easy on the eyes. Standing next to the desk were two equally attractive female employees. Both of the girls had glowing suntanned skin and permed locks. One was a tall, willowy, blonde girl, and the other one was a petite brunette girl with a large magenta bow pinned to the side of her massive hairdo. He could tell that they were valley girls by the way they talked. The taller, blonde one was chewing bubble gum as she spoke to the shorter brunette girl. He heard the short one say something about some guy named "Rich" and a party, followed by a loud, peppy, "Shut Up!" from the tall girl. Her face blushed as she giggled, playfully slapping the shorter girl on the shoulder blade. Miroku asked them for directions to Julie Garcia's office.

"Um, excuse me ladies. Would you happen to know where Julie Garcia's office is?"

He got the short one's attention. "Che-euh!" she exclaimed. "Her office is down the hall, past the soda machines, look for the third door on your right, like okay?"

"Got it, thanks ladies."

As he walked off he could hear them giggle some more, this time they were obviously giggling about him.

"Ohmigod Stacy that guy was totally checking you out!" squealed the tall one.

"Kelly! He can like totally hear you right now." Scolded Stacy towards her friend, her face red with embarassment.

"Hey guy!" Kelly shouted back at Miroku, "My friend thinks you are totally cute; just thought you should know."

Miroku smiled an almost toothy grin back at them. "Uhh thanks." he replied.

After that bout of awkwardness, the two girls continued their conversation. Miroku headed further down the hall, finally stopping at Julie Garcia's office door. He gave it a firm knock. He heard the door handle turn. A stocky blonde woman was standing on the inside. She had a clipboard clutched in her right hand and a pen with turtles on it tucked neatly behind her ear. She peered down at the clipboard.

"You must be one of my 8 o'clockers. Miroku Hoshima, is it? I'm Julie, Julie Garcia. I'm a human resources manager here at the facility." She tucked the clipboard under her left arm, extending out her right hand to Miroku.

"Yes Ma'am that would be me." He shook her hand.

"Come inside my office and have a seat, there are others inside waiting as well."

Once inside, Miroku examined the small office. He saw that there were two other guys in there already. The first one looked slightly younger than him, this guy was skinny, really skinny. He wore a too big Van Halen band shirt that hung off of his body like a loose sack. His face was visibly obscured by his long, shaggy, brown hair. Miroku wondered how the kid was even able to see with all the hair in his face. The other guy looked roughly the same age as Miroku, He was much different looking than the other guy, tall, with a well-built athletic physique, tanned skin, and black hair in a military-style haircut with a sharp fade in the back. He wore two-toned black Adidas and a white, layered short sleeve button-up shirt with the undershirt sloppily tucked into a pair of belted khaki pants. Aside from the two strangers in the room, the most peculiar thing in the office was Mrs. Garcia's obsession with turtles. Turtle themed things were everywhere in this room, stone turtles, a turtle wastebasket, framed poster prints of turtles on the walls, and about a dozen assorted plush turtles crammed on a single bookcase shelf.

Miroku took his seat next to the tanned guy, Listening as Julie began to recite protocol for the three 'delinquents' in the room.

"So we all know why you are here today, for some reason Judge Kleburne has decided to give you hooligans a second-chance. Anyways, you already know my name is Julie Garcia. I will be your boss during your three month community service term. You are to report to me immediately if there are any problems during the duration of your term here. Does anyone have any questions?"

There was no answer from any of the three men. Julie continued, reciting a pre-rendered speech in a pamphlet of sorts almost word for word.

"Anyways without further ado, welcome to Silent Pines, we are a privately owned, donor-funded, resort and recreational center. Under any circumstances you are **not** to mingle with the patrons here, you three are here to work. Your work will consist of trash pickup and custodial duties such as mopping, vacuuming, and sweeping." Julie reached behind her desk, grabbing a large, magnetic dry-erase board with some kind of chore chart placed on it. On the chart were three color-coded turtle magnets, one for each of the boys in the room. Julie wrote each of their names in permanent marker on the turtles. Miroku's turtle was light blue with sunglasses.

"This is the work chart, you will see your turtle next to your assigned duty for the next six hours." Julie opened her desk and handed over three keys, each on a neon green coiled plastic band. Each of the boys grabbed a key.

"These are the keys to the custodial shed, you are to hand these over at the front desk at the end of your shift. During your shift you will have one fifteen minute break and one 25 minute lunch break where you are free to mingle with each other. A bag lunch will be provided." Julie paused, looking up at the turtle clock above the office door.

"You have thirty minutes before we open at 9am, feel free to use this time to introduce yourselves to your co-workers for the next three months." With saying that last remark, Julie left the office. Miroku slumped over, resting his head on his knuckles. He wanted to fall back asleep so bad.

During the thirty minute break, he managed to learn the two other guy's names. The skinny kid's name was Billy Marsten, he didn't seem to like talking very much, then again who could blame him. The tan guy sitting in the middle was named Hector Villanueva. This guy was the polar opposite of the pale, skinny, kid next to him. He was loud, almost jovial. Immediately, Hector declared Billy and Miroku to be his 'homeboys'. Hector turned in his chair to face Miroku.

"So, do you know like Kung-Fu and shit, man?" he asked.

Miroku raised his eyebrow at the racially stereotypical question.

"I'm not too familiar with that particular martial art since I'm Japanese not Chinese, so no." Miroku replied.

"Aw, man that's too bad. I was hoping you could give me some pointers. Be like Bruce Lee all up in that shit."

Soon the thirty minutes of free time were up. The three boys headed off towards the back trying to locate the custodial shed. Once there, each of them grabbed a poker and a trash bag_. _

The hours passed on, soon enough it was break time. Miroku tapped Hector on the shoulder to get his attention.

"Hey, Hector...you got some bud on you?" he asked, knowing there was a pretty good possibility that Hector had weed on his person.

Hector grinned. "You smoke man? I knew there was I reason I liked you! Yeah I got some."

"Joo comin' too, Shaggy?" he yelled at Billy across the room. Billy nodded as he silently trailed behind Hector and Miroku.

Behind the custodial shed, Hector took a fat cigarillo out from his inside shirt pocket. He unrolled it, discarded the the tobacco, and re-rolled it with marijuana in it's place. Hector lit it, hit it, and then passed it down to Miroku and Billy. Miroku took a hit, he was pleasantly surprised at the quality of Hector's trees.

"Where did you get this good shit at?" Miroku asked, his fingers carefully examining the blunt.

"From my cousin, Luis in Mexico. Luis can grow pretty much anything, he has green thumbs or something." Hector replied.

Miroku made a mental note to get Hector's number and address later as he had been meaning to find another dealer. His usual stuff had been sub-par these past couple of months. Way too many stems and seeds for his liking. Miroku passed the blunt over to Billy. Billy coughed.

"Fuck! that _is _some strong shit." Billy managed to spurt out in between coughs. His voice was surprisingly deep.

Miroku laughed. "So you do speak? I was beginning to wonder if you were some kind of mute."

"So what are you guys in for?" Miroku asked Hector and Billy.

Hector was the first to reply. "Street racing, but some _pendejo _called the cops on us before we could even start."

Billy spoke up next, "I lit an abandoned travel trailer on fire, the cops saw me sit back and watch it burn. It was awesome watching the flames encircle that piece of shit." "How about you Miroku? What got you stuck in yuppie hell?"

Miroku took another hit, the blunt was burnt down to just a roach. "Vandalism, My band mates and I were trying to tag our band's name under the overpass. They bailed, I was caught."

"That's rough dude." Billy responded, throwing the burnt-out roach on the ground.

Soon enough the break was over and the three boys had to return back to trash collection duty. They had to keep silent as they didn't know if turtle lady was hiding around the corner. Hours later, lunch had came and gone. Miroku found the chips in the mediocre bag lunch at least edible. The sandwich reminded him of trying to eat drywall. Frankly, it was disgusting. As he picked up more of the trash with the poker, Miroku sighed, lamenting the fact that he still had another 3 hours of work until he could go home. At least, that was his sentiment before catching the attention of the girl behind the window.

* * *

****80's Slang/General Glossary ****

****Friggin ******– semi-slang for "fucking or freaking"**

**Fugly**\- portmanteau of 'Fucking' and 'Ugly'

**Cheeuh**\- 80's valley-girl slang for yeah, or "no duh"

**Bud**\- dated term for Marijuana.

**Trees**\- Marijuana

**Roach**\- A marijuana cigarette or joint that has been almost completely burned out.

* * *

**80's Mix Tape: Track 3**

Night Ranger – Sister Christian.


	4. The Girl in the Window

**Chapter 4 – The Girl In The Window Thinks You're Totally Hot.**

Before arriving at Silent Pines, Sango went to the hospital to check on the girl from Elmwood, only to be told by the nurse that she left earlier that day after an emergency rhinoplasty. With her luck on this particular day, it was no wonder that things weren't off to a good start, her bleak attitude became worse with each passing hour. While at home for a brief moment, Sango managed to change out of her uniform into something a little more casual. This time, Sango opted for jeans and a T-shirt. Her hair was in a loose ponytail tied with the same white ribbon at the base. Since her school was so small, extracurricular activities, usually athletic games, were often held elsewhere, and in this case the school managed to become a part of a city-wide peer-to-peer program where not only St. Catherine's students but the students of other private high schools in the city could sign up for volunteer hours. Normally, she wouldn't be the only high-schooler holding a counseling session at this time. But as she looked around the building, it seemed that she was the only one left at a quarter til four.

Sango walked past some of the college-aged staff members of the rec center to the small room where Silent Pines held the peer-to-peer counseling sessions when she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. Sango looked back to see a young, olive-skinned man dressed in one of the resort's light blue staff polos. His short, wavy, blackish-brown hair was neatly tousled, and he had the collar of his polo popped. Sango sighed, she didn't want to be bothered by anyone but her client today, let alone Rich Tenelli who seemed to make all the other female staff members at Silent Pines swoon. Probably because he was attractive, loaded, and drove a Bentley. Somehow, Rich set his sights on Sango but she was ultimately unimpressed by his arrogance and need to flaunt his wealth around in order to impress her.

"What is it, Rich?" she asked, with an annoyed tinge to her voice.

"I'm having a party at my house this weekend and well, I was wondering if you'd like to go. I had my stepdad buy the liquor and a keg so you don't have to worry about bringing anything."

Sango rolled her eyes. "I don't drink so I'm going to have to decline. Besides, my **police officer** father would kill me if I went to a college party. Especially a college party with alcohol. Which you should know is illegal to serve to anyone under the age of 21. And if I recall, Rich, You're only 19."

"Like I give a crap about that. Come on Sango, loosen up a little." Rich coaxed, leaning up against the wall "Did I mention that my parents will be out of town during the party so if you want to go get away from the chaos for a bit, we can go upstairs."

Sango paused for a minute when she noticed Rich's eyes dart from her face to her chest.

"I'd love to have a chance to get to know you outside of work, and by that I mean **all **of you." he smirked, making full eye contact while his free arm cradled Sango's shoulders. She politely moved his hand away to unlock the door behind her.

Sango's brows furrowed upon unlocking the door to the counseling room. Haughtily, she rejected his invitation once more. "I'm sorry, Rich but my answer is still no. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to wait for my client."

Rich scratched his head as Sango quickly shut the door in front of him. "What's eating her?"

Sango slammed her leather backpack satchel on the desk. _The nerve of that guy_, she thought to herself. _He really just asked me if I would sleep with him, as-if. What a pompous, arrogant, ass-UGH! _She cupped her hands over her ears, feeling like she wanted to scream because once again, April 11th reared its ugly head. Sango sat in silence in the room, doodling some stars and crudely-drawn cats in the margin of her Physics notebook. She figured that while she waited on her client to arrive she'd try to get some studying done. However, with her mind still racing about not being able to see the girl from Elmwood at the hospital and Rich's transparent attempt to bed her, studying proved to be a very difficult task indeed. Instead, she tucked her head between her folded arms and tried to power nap on the desk, at least sleep never let her down.

* * *

Meanwhile, it was nearly time for Miroku Hoshima's first shift at Silent Pines to end, there was little more than an hour and a half left until he could leave to go home. Lazily, he poked and prodded at the refuse and litter on the ground. While he took care of the trash around him, Billy and Hector were on the other side of the courtyard doing the exact same thing. Turtle lady had them split up into sections to make sure they got the work done instead of as she ever-so politely put it 'screwing around'. However, that didn't stop the three men from screwing around entirely. As Miroku pierced discarded sandwich wrappers, leaves, and empty soda cans to throw in the trash bag at his side, he thought about home. More importantly what his mom said a few nights ago. She mentioned something about her godchild coming in from Tokyo for a visit soon. It'd been more than a decade since Miroku last saw the kid, and at that time both of them were toddlers, barely out of diapers. Hell, he couldn't even remember the kid's name, only that it started with an I.

Part of him wished that the visitor would be a cute girl but he knew that the only person his mom was a godmother to was a boy two years his junior. Still, it didn't stop him from fantasizing about the upcoming visitor being a girl. Preferably brunette, with fair skin or even sun-kissed, and big brown eyes. Perhaps she'd the daughter of a loaded businessman. Though if that was the case then his money-hungry parents would've definitely arranged a marriage by now. Not like his parents hadn't tried it before with the daughters of other family friends in Japan. Perhaps they figured marrying him off would somehow atone for their son's screw ups in life. Miroku, the man who barely graduated high school with a C-D average in all subjects simply because he was lazy. Miroku, the slacker who'd rather spend his time in a garage band than working an honest job. Miroku, the idiot who didn't even apply to any universities or even community colleges because he was too busy getting high instead of taking the SAT, despite being academically gifted with top standardized test scores. Miroku sighed, poking more of the garbage on the ground as he wondered why his brain even went on that tangent in the first place. Then, out of nowhere a soda can whizzed past him from one of the douchebags on the golf carts across the way as they yelled a slew of unintelligible insults his way. Miroku managed to duck out of the soda can's trajectory but it landed under a window. He ran over to the window to pick up the mess, only to be met with the blank stare of a teenage girl behind the window.

* * *

When the soda can struck the window, Sango jolted up from her power nap to see what the fuss was on the outside. Carefully she rolled up the mini blinds to take a peek. That was when she noticed a boy crouched down below her. His jet-black hair was pulled into a small ponytail at the nape of his neck, resting over the collar of a black t-shirt under a dingy denim vest covered in heavy metal patches all over the back. His tight-fitting jeans had holes in the knees and his black and white Chuck Taylors looked like they'd seen better days. She couldn't really get a good look at his face until he stood up to sink the soda can into the trash bag a couple of feet away. For a few seconds, Sango stared at the young man as his eyes met hers. Like herself, he was of Asian descent. He was average height, with an athletic build and shaggy black bangs that framed his face. Three small gold hoop earrings dangled from his earlobes, two on the right and one on the left. Deep blue eyes rested below fairly thick, almost boyishly unkempt eyebrows. His mouth wasn't too wide but his lips had a good amount of symmetrical fullness to them. To say that the man outside the window wasn't good-looking would be a bold-faced lie. Sango felt her cheeks flush as the young man continued to stare at her. Her heart nervously thumped in her chest. Why today of all days did she have to get all doe-eyed over a boy, especially after telling Rich to step off earlier? Quickly, she shut the blinds, returning to the desk to wait for her client who was now running five minutes late.

* * *

Miroku stood back as the girl behind the window shut the blinds. He hadn't a clue who she was but damn did he ever want to find out. She was absolutely gorgeous with long chestnut brown hair and the cutest bangs that left two long, puffy, tendrils at the side of her ears. Her skin was warm on an otherwise fair complexion. Her rosy lips, although small were pert and full. Definitely kissable. But the feature that stood out the most about her were her big, sultry, brown eyes. They were eyes he could find himself getting lost in. Her long lashes fluttered as her gaze met his. He could only get a short look at her body before she pulled the blinds, but he definitely liked what he'd seen. Although she was on the shorter side, the mystery girl was definitely in total babe territory. She was busty, sporting a fitted baby-pink t-shirt tucked under high-waisted fold-over jeans that accentuated her curvy hips and slim waist. Without a doubt she was exactly like the elusive girl-next-door type that Miroku always fantasized about. The kind of girl that didn't chase after boys, but boys chased after her. He had to know who she was, he hoped like hell he'd see her again before he clocked out.

* * *

The door to the counseling room creaked a little bit when Sango stepped outside. As if her day couldn't possibly go any more south, her client was a no-show. For an entire hour she waited for the girl to show up but she never came. Popping a few quarters into a pay phone, she proceeded to call her dad to pick her up from the facility. After he answered, she sat down on the edge of the fountain to wait for him. The image of the boy outside the window wouldn't leave her head and she didn't understand why he was still on her mind either, he wasn't her type. Then again, what was her type anyways? Most of the guys that Sango happened to crush on were clean-cut and well...normal, but if that was the case why did she reject most of those guys when they took interest in her? Countless men her 'type' had tried and failed in the past to ask her out. Could she have been wrong about what kind of man she was attracted to all along? Could she really be **that** girl who goes ga-ga over bad boys? For years, she tried to defy the stereotype of the promiscuous Catholic school-girl and yet fawning over a burnout headbanger like the guy outside the window made her no better than the girls she lambasted for doing the same. Oh God, what if he rode a motorcycle or had tattoos? Not like it was out of the realm of possibility especially since his ears were pierced. _Maybe dating a guy like that wouldn't be so bad._ She thought to herself. After all her favorite singer, Billy Idol, was a major hot bad-boy with piercings. Frustrated, Sango rested her elbows on her knees, cupping her face with her hands. "I'm overthinking it aren't I?" She muttered under her breath.

Miroku placed his copy of the shed key on the desk in Julie Garcia's office. Finally it was time for him to clock out. He moved his head side to side as he stretched his arms for a bit, glad the hard labor, the painfully boring, hard labor, was over for the time being. Still, that didn't mean that the day was a total waste. After all, the mystery girl behind the window was a definite sight for sore eyes. Miroku sighed as he walked down the hall into the lobby; no use getting hung up on her, by this time she was probably gone already. Whether it was dumb luck or sheer coincidence he ended up retracting his previous sentiment when he spotted the mystery girl sitting alone by the fountain. She looked frustrated about something. Clearly, she didn't seem in the mood for small talk but nevertheless, he pressed on with his attempt to get her attention or better yet, her digits. He sat down beside her, feigning exasperation. "Rough day, huh?" he asked her.

Sango let out a haughty sigh, not really paying attention to who was speaking to her. Whoever he was, he had a really nice voice. "You could say that again." Her eyes widened when she finally lifted her head up to see none other than window boy sitting next to her. "It's YOU!" she exclaimed, pointing her index finger at him.

Miroku gave her a puzzled look. "I beg your pardon?"

Sango's cheeks once again blazed crimson. Only this time from embarrassment rather than infatuation. "Oh, nevermind...it's nothing."

"So, do you work here?" He asked, with his fool-proof 'charming' smile working at full capacity.

"yeah. But I'm with the high school program." she replied, obviously trying to duck her face away from his gaze. "How about you, do you work here as well?" she asked him in return.

"You could call it that, though at the moment I'm nothing more than a glorified garbageman. So, beautiful, you got a name? I'm Miroku, Miroku Hoshima."

"Sango." she replied. "Sango Sato."

Miroku's eyes widened upon hearing her name, it suited her well. Beautiful, just like the vibrant sea coral she was named for. He wondered if she spoke his mother tongue; it would be a useful skill for her to have if he was to ever bring her to his parents. Especially his mother, whose English was really poor. His mother never did quite catch on to the language as well as his father did. Miroku shook his head, why was he thinking about that now, he barely knew this girl but _sweet lord_ he wanted to get to know her so gave her a little language test just to make sure.

"Sango huh? I like it. A pretty name, fitting for a pretty girl." Miroku remarked in fluent Japanese.

Sango stared down at the floor, trying to hide the fact that she found his voice when speaking in Japanese just as attractive. Miroku took notice that she was blushing even more so by way she tried to hide her face. _Fuck, she's even cuter when trying to play coy. _

Sango lifted her head up. From the annoyed expression on her face, Miroku could tell that she definitely understood what he said to her and from the look of it, she did not appreciate his flattery at all. Though her flushed cheeks gave her away.

Not one to back down from a challenge, Sango replied to him in his language. "Look, I know what you are trying to do and the answer is No."

Miroku switched back to speaking in English. "But I didn't ask you anything? At least not yet."

Sango locked her eyes on his, even though the redness in her face hadn't disappeared yet, she was about to lay into his smug playboy act. "Do you honestly think you're the first boy to try that crap with me? No, means I will not go out with you, nor will I give you my phone number."

Miroku closed his eyes, putting on a self-confident smile. Sango was not only cute, she was smart too. Kind of bitchy but then again, he provoked her. He had to find a creative way around Sango's snappiness if he wanted a chance to see her again.

"Who said anything about asking you out? I only wanted to know if you wanted to chat while I wait for my shift to end, there's not many people in this lobby who look like they could carry a decent conversation. In case you haven't noticed besides us and the receptionists, there's nobody else here."

Sango sighed, hoping that her dad would hurry up and get to her already, she was never any good at talking with boys, especially persistent boys like Miroku. Shooting them down was a different story but when it came to small talk, she often froze up out of fear that she'd say something stupid. The fact that she found Miroku as her friend and classmate, Amy, would put it; 'damn fine', made matters worse.

Sango turned around to face him. He did have a point, the lobby was pretty barren at this time of day. "I suppose you are right but if you don't mind I'd rather sit in silence while I wait for my ride. I don't really feel like talking. Maybe some other time."

Miroku's ears perked up. There was still hope for him after all. "So you're saying I can have another chance to pick your brain then?"

"I guess you can say that." Sango replied, once again focusing on any signs of her father's arrival in the window.

The two of them sat in silence for the next ten minutes. Occasionally Miroku would catch Sango take short glances at him but then return to staring out the lobby window. It was painfully obvious that he intrigued her in some way. Based on the way her face blushed when he complimented her or showed her any kind of attention, maybe she had the hots for him? Though her current disposition made reading her actions a tad bit harder. If a total babe like her was attracted to him, he'd be over the moon. Bored, he stretched out his legs but not before noticing a tan sedan pull up to the entrance. The driver of the car honked twice. Sango rose from her seat, grabbing the backpack beside her.

"That your ride?"

"Yeah." Sango nodded, as she began to walk towards the door.

"Sango, wait." Miroku stopped her before she made it to the door. "If I see you again, will you take me up on my offer?"

"Maybe, but I doubt our paths will cross any time soon, Goodbye Miroku."

Miroku noticed the slight grin on Sango's face as she walked through the doors. It was a genuine smile, without even the tiniest hint of vitriol. She seemed like she was finally starting to soften up to him, albeit a little late. _Well, better late than never, _Miroku thought to himself, but not before taking a good look at Sango's backside when she opened the car door. "Damn, even her ass is perfect." He muttered out loud.

After Sango left the facility, Miroku exited the building to find his car. When he made it to his vehicle, he took another long look at Silent Pines looming in the background. Part of him felt like getting arrested wasn't so bad because otherwise, he wouldn't have had the chance to meet a rare beauty like Sango Sato. He hoped like hell that luck would be on his side so he could see her again real soon.

* * *

****80's Slang/General Glossary ****

****Digits- ******Phone number**

**Burnout**\- marijuana user/stoner.

**Headbanger**\- Term for a person who is a fan of Heavy Metal music.

* * *

****80's Mix Tape: Track 4 ****

**Warrant – Cherry Pie**


	5. How to Cash a Rain Check

**Chapter 5 – How to cash a rain-check.**

Miroku lay face-down in the comfort of his bed. One full week had already went into his mandatory community service term at Silent Pines. Here it was Monday, his day off and yet, he still groaned over the fact that he had to go back. Every day it was the same thing. He would get there, obtain the key to the shed and either mop, sweep, or pick up trash with a poker outside of the cabins. Sure, he had his break times with Billy and Hector to look forward to but that wasn't enough. Every day the monotony of his situation creeped up on him just a little bit more. Not to mention the fact that he hadn't seen Sango at all since their chance encounter. Figures he'd meet her on her last day at Silent Pines. Sango Sato, he just couldn't get her out of his mind. Her lovely face and bodacious curves remained etched into his memory as he imagined himself pressed against her, his mouth interlocked with hers in a passionate kiss while his hands kneaded her supple, soft, breasts as she begged him to take her. Miroku grabbed one of the longer pillows from his bed. Pressing the length of his body into the pillow, he began to murmur her name. All the while, his fantasy continued and just when his dream-self was about to lift off Sango's brassiere to get a glimpse of her bare breasts, Miroku's daydream ended up being cut short by two words.

"Who's Sango?"

Miroku jerked his head from his pillow to find his little sister Rin hovered over him. Her eyes were wide with curiosity. He rolled over on his side to face her, annoyed that his kid sister would have the audacity to enter his room. Especially when it looked like he was about to get frisky with his pillow.

Miroku quickly threw the pillow over his crotch to hide any evidence of a hard-on from his kid sister. "Rin, what have I told you about coming into my room without knocking? Get lost."

Rin pouted. "you are so mean Onii-chan. So are you going to tell me who she is?"

"It's none of your business who 'she' is, now seriously, get lost, go watch TV or something. I don't want to be bothered right now."

"Hmph, figures you would be the type who wouldn't take rejection well."

Miroku frowned. "Get out of my room Rin!" He shouted, chucking another pillow at her head. He missed his mark as Rin quickly ducked out of the way. Rin stuck her tongue out at him making a raspberry noise as she ran out of his room.

Miroku loved his little sister to death although sometimes she could really try his patience. He needed to remember to lock his door more often in the future. Since his fantasy session had been so rudely interrupted, he figured it was time to get out of bed. Miroku looked down at his clock radio, it was a little past 2pm. It seemed he napped way past the usual time he'd head to Jimmy's place. Grabbing his guitar case; he'd head over to Jimmy's garage to tune his guitar and chill with the dude before Stony and Andy came back from their fast food jobs. Miroku slung the strap over his shoulder. As he came to the bottom of the stairwell his mother was already there waiting for him with her hand placed firmly on her hip. Clearly she wanted him to do some arbitrary task before he bolted out the door.

"And just where do you think you are going?" she asked.

"Out. I have band practice at Jimmy's place."

"You promised Papa you would walk the dog today, well are you?"

"Can't Rin do it? After all Shiro is _her _dog." Miroku griped.

"You know very well that Rin has piano lessons at this time of day. Besides all you ever do is eat and sleep. You need to go outside and enjoy the sunshine before the sun gets too hot."

His mom handed him the leash. "Just go do it so I don't have to hear it from your father later."

Miroku rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll go walk the dog."

Miroku made his way towards the backyard, looking for the white Akita-inu. He found Shiro lazily sunbathing on the back patio, caked-on dirt covered his large white paws. To the dog's left was a freshly dug hole. "I thought dad had broke him of digging holes in the ground." Miroku groaned as he readied the leash in his hand.

"Shiro! Come here boy!"

The dog's ear's perked up at hearing his name. Shiro scurried off of the ground, ready to pounce on Miroku.

"Shiro, _Osuwari!" _

Shiro sat down, letting Miroku attach the red leash to his matching collar. Now came the hard part...actually getting the dog to walk on the leash. Miroku tugged on the leash, the dog remained firmly planted on the ground. He tugged again. Shiro gnawed at the leash as Miroku desperately tried to pull him out the back gate. Realizing he had had enough of this charade, he picked the heavy dog up in his arms. If Shiro wasn't going to walk then he was going to take a ride. Miroku unlocked the passenger door of his Camaro, hastily pushing the dog into the back seat. Shiro growled at him. "Hey, you're the one who didn't want to walk, so don't give me any attitude." Miroku grouched, locking his keys into the ignition. Shiro fell back into the seat as Miroku drove off the curb of the street.

Miroku opened his center console, randomly grabbing for one of his many cassettes. He picked one up and glanced at the dust jacket. "Ride the Lightning, haven't heard this one in a while." he said, popping the cassette into the tape deck. He turned up his speakers to full blast; letting the glorious sounds of Metallica fill the neighborhood.

Miroku drove around the suburbs passing by the elementary school, the coffee shop, Jack in the Box, and a couple of other assorted businesses. Yawning, he took a right turn back into the subdivision, driving down a couple of more blocks away from his house. Thirty minutes out and about should've been more than enough time to stay away. Miroku eased on the gas when came up on St. Catherine's High School, noticing that the School had just let out for the day. He knew tales about that place all too well. If there was one rumor that stuck out the most pertaining to the girls from that school, the girls that went there were either really stuck up or really easy. If a dude wanted one of the easy St. Cat's chicks, all he had to do was walk in the door. Even Miroku himself had relations with a few St. Cat's girls in the past. Namely the hard-partying ones that showed up to ragers when he was a high school student. He tried to shift his focus on the road. It really wasn't the time to reminisce about his high school days, even though the last day of his own senior year barely happened a year and a half ago. Part of him really missed high school but then again a part of him also never wanted to experience it ever again. Why was it that every time one of the Jock's girls strayed, he was always the first to blame? True, he messed around with a few cheerleaders and the girls on the gymnastics team but he'd never deliberately hit on a taken girl. However if a taken girl, hit on him it was a different story. Miroku put the car in idle for a minute when he saw Sango exit out of the school's main entrance.

In a split second, he turned off the radio. There she was, walking with a group of girls whom Miroku could assume were her friends. Sango, radiant Sango. He felt his heart skip a beat when he noticed that she was wearing the standard uniform that the girls at St. Catherine's wore. It looked good on her, _really _good on her_. _He especially liked the way the short plaid skirt showed off her legs, especially that area of skin between her knee and thigh. Miroku felt himself go on another daydream tangent when a perverted grin spread across his face.

"_I can't thank you enough for meeting me here, Miroku." Sango said, leading Miroku into the chapel of St. Catherine's. _

"_Oh, it was no problem at all. Your company is always appreciated, Sango. By the way, why did you want to meet in the chapel?" Miroku asked, a little confused she'd bring him to such a sacred location. _

_Sango grabbed his hand, leading him into a small confessional booth. "The priest is out right now, so I figured this would be the perfect spot to tell you a confession of my very own." _

_Miroku gulped. "And what might that be?" _

_A shock of pink spread across Sango's face as she answered his question. "That, I'm in love with you." _

"_Is that so?" Miroku responded, leaned up against the wall of the confessional. Sango pressed her body against his. Her breasts squished against his chest. Miroku's heart thumped at the close-contact. _

"_Please don't reject me." She whispered as her heavy-lidded eyes met his gaze. Slowly, she lifted up her skirt, bringing Miroku's right hand to her hips. His fingertips grazed over the lace waistband of her pink satin panties. Her lips curled into a bashful smile when she began to slide the underwear down her legs. _

Just as his dream-self was about to unbutton his jeans to go to pound-town on schoolgirl Sango, Miroku snapped out of his lewd fantasy upon noticing that she was even closer to the wrought-iron walkway that led to the sidewalk. Miroku unbuckled his seat belt as he turned off the ignition, stepping out of the car but not before looking down at the crotch of his pants to make sure he hadn't pitched another tent. Lucky for him, his lewd daydream didn't make it that far yet. If he daydreamed about fucking her any longer, he would've been in trouble. It already looked creepy enough that he was parked outside her school considering he barely knew her in the first place. Gazing up into the sky, he noticed the clouds had gotten darker since he left the house. If it started to rain, it would look much less stalker-ish on his part if he offered her a ride.

* * *

"See you later!" Sango said her goodbyes to her classmates. She paused when she got to the end of the walkway. Parked on the curb was a black sports-car. Outside of the car she saw Miroku leaning against the driver side door. He waved at her to get her attention. She approached him, a little annoyed that he managed to find her. Was he stalking her? She wanted to get to the bottom of this asap.

"Miroku, what are you doing here? Furthermore, how the hell did you manage to find me?" she got close to his face. "You're not stalking me are you?" She clenched her fists; ready to pound the tar out of him if he didn't answer her within the next three seconds.

"I assure you It's not what it looks like, I was merely passing through the neighborhood. It's a coincidence really that I would happen to see you again. Honestly, I'm quite surprised that we live so close to one another."

Sango quirked her eyebrow, she was skeptical but she didn't doubt the truth behind his words, still she had to make sure he was telling her the absolute truth. "Coincidence huh? Then tell me if you really do live in this area, where is the abandoned hospital at? Surely a local such as yourself would know where such a well-known landmark is." She crossed her arms, waiting for his response. "Well, I'm waiting."

Miroku closed his eyes as he let out a small chuckle, she was making this a little too easy.

"Evershore Psychiatric Hospital is located on the end of Pelican Blvd. Everyone knows that you only break into Evershore for one reason and that is to..."

"Fuck." he finished.

"Okay, that's enough!" Sango stopped him before he went into even more detail. So he wasn't lying. That still didn't mean that she trusted him completely. Sango lost her trail of thought when she heard barking come from Miroku's car. She couldn't contain her laughter, her hands were on her thighs as she tried to catch her breath from laughing so hard. Miroku scratched his head, confused at what she found so funny.

"So you have a dog in your car. Wait...don't tell me, you have candy in there too?"

Miroku got her joke. "I guess I do look like some kind of creeper right now. Although, I assure you that wasn't my intention." His eyes locked on hers. She could tell that he was being completely serious.

Miroku was just about to open his mouth with a sarcastic quip of his own when he felt a fat droplet of rain fall on his scalp. Instantly, the rain began pouring down. He turned his attention back on Sango.

"I don't suppose you have an umbrella on you?" he smirked. "I could give you a ride home but of course that would mean you would have to ride with a total creeper and his dog."

Sango sighed, "Well I guess If I'm being _kidnapped_, I better do it right."

Miroku opened the passenger door, "After you."

Sango got in, proceeding to fasten her seatbelt. She then felt something wet and cold brush up against the side of her face. It was the muzzle of Miroku's dog. "Does he bite?"

"Nah, Shiro's mostly harmless, it's his bark you got to watch out for, sometimes that dog doesn't know the meaning of the word **quiet**" Miroku assured her.

"Oh, is that so? Then tell me, If he's so harmless then why does he look like he can rip a grown man to shreds?_" _

Miroku Laughed, "The only thing he hates are mailmen and solicitors. He's kind-of the main reason why the mailman on our street started to use a truck to drop off our mail. He likes cats, though I haven't the slightest idea why."

He put the Camaro in drive. "Don't be too alarmed at my driving skills, I've been told I have a heavy foot."

Sango gripped the armrest of her seat as the car peeled out on the pavement. Miroku wasn't kidding about his heavy foot.

Miroku circled a couple of blocks until he finally arrived on Sango's street. At this point the rain had all but disappeared. "Alright, tell me when to stop at the right house." he said while Sango was busy staring out the window trying to guide him to the right address. He must have at least passed seven or so houses before she told him to stop the car.

"This is it, 1580 Pomona street."

Miroku parked the car beside the curb. The first thing he noticed about Sango's house was that it was considerably smaller than his. For starters, his house three blocks down on Sieber rd. was a large seafoam green, two-story house built in the 1920's that had a lot of remodeling done to it. Her house was a lot more modern looking, mid-century, probably built sometime in the 50's. It was only one story and the exterior was made of a stucco of large sandstone quarry rocks. Outside the house, stood an oak tree surrounded by a flowerbed of day lilies in a wide array of colors. A large magnolia tree stretched its branches over the side of the backyard fence, At this time the magnolia tree produced pink blossoms that gently fluttered in the breeze. A single magnolia blossom landed on the center console in Miroku's car via the open window. Sango unbuckled her seat belt.

"Thanks for taking me home, Miroku."

Miroku turned his head to face her. "Think nothing of it, I couldn't in good conscience let a girl walk home alone in the rain."

Sango gave him an appreciative smile. "Once again, thanks."

Sango grabbed her leather backpack from off of the floorboard. "Well I guess I'd better get inside." She glanced over at Miroku, noticing that his hands were still gripped on the steering wheel.

"Would you like to come inside for some coffee? I don't know if you have plans or anything. Besides, we never really got a chance to chat at Silent Pines. I'd like to continue where we left off, if that's okay."

Upon hearing Sango's offer, Miroku was stuck somewhere between being completely elated at the fact that she remembered what he had said at Silent Pines and trying to not look too excited that she actually accepted his rain-check on their conversation. He quickly regained his composure.

"Sure, I'd like that."

Miroku put the car in park, turning the ignition off before sticking the car keys inside of one of the pockets of his battle jacket. After getting out of the car he propped his seat forward. He reached for Shiro's leash, pulling on it yet again. Surprise; surprise, the damn dog still wouldn't budge.

Sango looked over her shoulder, "Something wrong back there?"

"Not really, it's just Shiro being stubborn. He really hates to be walked on his leash." Miroku exhaled a deep breath before picking Shiro up in his arms once again. Sango tried to contain a giggle when she saw an exasperated Miroku carry the large dog like it was a big fluffy baby.

"Does this happen often?"

Miroku let out a grunt. "More than you'd expect. There's a reason why his "walks" usually involve my car."

* * *

Once inside the house, Shiro shook out his semi-damp fur from sticking his head out the back window. Miroku surveyed the inside of Sango's house finding it to be nothing like the inside of his own.

Compared to his home, her home looked cozy. A comfy-looking sectional couch with a wooden coffee table in front of it greeted him when he stepped into the front room. Further away from the couch and the table was a large TV, hooked up to the TV was a video game console with two controllers. However, the thing that caught his attention the most was the large amount of pictures displayed on the walls of the living room. Most of them showed Sango and a boy whom Miroku could only assume to be her brother growing up throughout the years. His parents never put sentimental stuff like that on display in their home, instead they opted to put boring things like landscape paintings, calligraphy art, and weird-looking statues of fish. He could hear Sango in the kitchen running some tap water through the coffee maker. Miroku focused his attention back on the photographs. He smiled, Sango was a really cute kid. Next to the walkway of the hall he found a large glass display case full of medals and trophies, most of them highlighting some kind of academic or sports achievement. He chuckled upon realizing that Sango had even more awards than his own over-achieving sister. Scuttling around the front room some more, Miroku stopped at a fireplace in the corner of the room.

Resting atop the mantle of the fireplace were two more pictures, these ones much older than the ones on the wall. One of the pictures was a really old sepia toned photograph showing a young couple dressed in traditional Japanese clothing. Sango's ancestors no doubt. Next to the antique photo on the mantle was another photo. This one caught Miroku's attention the most. It was a small Polaroid photo, the sides of it charred from ash behind the glass frame. The picture showed Sango's entire family, her father, brother, and her mother. Palm trees and a shoreline stood out in the background behind the happy family. Sango was in the middle while her father stood on the right, holding Sango's brother on his shoulders. The man in the picture looked oddly familiar, though Miroku had a hard time pin-pointing where he'd seen him before. In the picture Sango's mother stood on the left with her hand resting on Sango's right shoulder. His eyes focused in on Sango's mother. She was a total babe and he could see where Sango got her looks from. She definitely had her mother's curvaceous body and warm brown eyes.

"Coffee's ready." Sango said; setting down two glass mugs of black coffee, a bowl of sugar cubes, and a pitcher of cream on the coffee table. She looked over to find Miroku still staring at the pictures on the mantle.

"Is there something on your mind, Miroku?"

Miroku snapped out of his trance. "Oh no, not at all. I was just looking at your family photo. It looked like such a happy moment, my eyes were drawn to it."

Miroku took a seat next to her on the couch, taking one of the coffee cups off the table. He generously filled the cup with some of the sugar cubes. He saw Sango let out a deep, mournful sigh. Did he say something that upset her? He wondered.

"Yes, it was a happy moment, although I'm sad to say it was also one of the last..."

Miroku was taken aback by her statement, what did she mean by "the last"?

Sango could see the look of confused concern in his eyes. "It's nothing to worry yourself about, forget I even brought it up."

There it was again, that look of pain and sorrow on her face. The very same forlorn look she had at Silent Pines when she waited for her dad. Miroku knew that It would be a wise decision to drop the subject despite the fact that his morbid curiosity was getting the better of him. Against his better judgment, he decided to press on. He asked her again what she meant by "the last".

"That picture on the mantle was taken two days before my mother's murder, it is a memento of one of the last memories I have of her. The day we met at Silent Pines happened to mark six years since."

Miroku's eyes widened at the shock that her mother had been murdered, that's a terrible thing for anyone to go through. Poor Sango, no wonder she was so hesitant to tell him about it and no wonder she was so cold towards him. Death of a loved one isn't easy for anyone but he imagined it would be even worse if said loved one was murdered in cold blood. As horrible as it all sounded, Miroku wanted to know more about the heinous crime.

"Do you know who killed her?" Miroku asked, pressing his luck that she would even tell him.

Sango took a sip of coffee, her eyes were closed as she remembered the exact details of the perpetrator.

"Yes, I do know who killed her. Miroku, how familiar are you with true crime?"

Miroku paused, Sango's question was certainly a strange one. Nevertheless, he did know a couple of things about serial killers and famous homicides from the fact that he watched enough of those cop programs on TV like 'America's most armed and dangerous' not to mention he did an oral report on the Zodiac killer during his senior year of high school for his social sciences class.

"I know of a couple of cases." he replied between sips of coffee.

"Are you familiar with a killer cult leader who went by the name Naraku?"

Miroku nearly spat. That name was definitely one that rang a bell. Naraku Onigumo was a murderous sociopath whose senseless killing had spanned two continents. He and his doomsday cult known simply as the Shikon Society would always strike at places heavy with tourists, one of their favorite spots to recruit followers at were the Hawaiian Islands. Naraku's victims were always at random but they all had something in common, when the bodies were found they were often mutilated and missing limbs to the point that the only thing recognizable on them was a single spider shaped brand on their back, sometimes it was burned into the skin, sometimes it was carved. Throughout Naraku's reign of terror, only one woman managed to escape the cult and live to tell about the horrors first-hand. Too bad the ordeal made the woman absolutely insane. Miroku remembered seeing an interview with the woman on TV a couple of years ago. The woman's name was Kagura Nishikawa, A Japanese national living in the Hawaii compound. Kagura was recruited by Naraku in the summer of 1969. For five years he brutally tortured this woman after her desertion of the cult in what seemed to be an abandoned surf shack in one of the more remote locations of the island. When the police finally found her in 1974 she was thankfully, still alive but she had forgotten the entirety of her language, how to control basic bodily functions, and where she had come from. she could only communicate In crude pictographs as Naraku had cut out her tongue. For some reason the mere mention of that creep's name was enough to send a sharp phantom pain through Miroku's right hand. Were the Shikon Society the ones responsible for the murder of Sango's mother?

"Yes, I have heard of him. Tell me Sango, was he the one that murdered your mother?"

Sango sat her coffee cup back on the table. "Yes, he was the one responsible for my mother's death, I know this because I saw the mark of the spider on her body."

Sango went into detail about how she witnessed the entire ordeal; the rape of her mother, the shooting, the fire, and her and Kohaku making their escape. She explained how her father was the one who made the initial arrest on Naraku after the Nishikawa kidnapping. And when Naraku broke out of prison it was inevitable that he would want revenge on Sango's family, even if revenge meant defiling Sayuri Sato's body before killing her with a headshot. It was all too much for Miroku to take in, he wanted to embrace Sango in a hug, to tell her it was all in the past and that she was safe now. As tears welled in her eyes, he wanted nothing more than to comfort her, to be a shoulder for her to cry on. But he could tell that she was strong, she had to be if she survived all of that. Miroku clenched his fists, that fucker Naraku, how could someone be that ruthless?

Always the empathetic type, Miroku embraced her in a hug. "I'm so sorry for your loss, Sango. Nobody should ever have to go through the absolute hell that you experienced. If you feel like you need to cry, just let it out okay."

Sango; touched at his sentiment, began to cry as she accepted his embrace. She then wiped the tears from her eyes, it was obvious that the subject still affected her deeply. Miroku then released her from his embrace.

"Thank you for your kind words, Miroku. If anything this whole ordeal with my mother's murder has given me strength to pursue my goals. It's because of her murder that I'm determined to become a lawyer just so I can put creeps like Naraku in a prison cell."

Sango then went on about her plans for college, and how she was top of the class at her high school and so on and so forth. She talked about surfing, her love of mystery novels, how she'd been taking karate classes since early childhood, and her brother's obsession with video games and such. As she rambled on, Miroku clung on to every word that came out of her mouth. He was right, she _was_ fascinating. She was intelligent, witty, sporty, and not to mention incredibly beautiful. Not only would she make an excellent girlfriend to any lucky guy out there, he could see himself becoming fast friends with her. He hoped that there would be other chances to hang out with her in the near future.

Sango glanced over at Miroku's coffee cup, noticing that it was empty.

"I'm sorry I kept rambling on like that, can I offer you another cup of coffee?"

"Sure." He nodded, handing the the cup over to her.

* * *

While Sango was in the kitchen, a small yellow and black cat jumped on Miroku's lap. The cat let out a small mew as it nestled into a ball, purring loudly. He noticed something odd about this cat, it had not one but two large fluffy tails.

"I see that you've met Kirara already." Sango chuckled, setting the freshly-filled coffee cup on the table.

"Yeah, she jumped up on my lap not too long ago, I must say that this is the first time I've ever seen a cat with two tails."

Sango chimed in, "She is quite the oddity isn't she? We found her when we moved into this house, she was nothing more than a little ball of dirty fluff living in a hole under the foundation. Kohaku swears up and down that she has magical powers but I think it's just his over-active imagination playing tricks on him."

"So Miroku, do you have any hobbies or anything? Are you currently in school?" Sango asked, feeling guilty that while she blabbed on about herself he didn't get a word in edgewise.

"No, I'm not in school at the moment. I graduated high school last year. As for hobbies, I'm the lead guitarist in a band with some of my friends."

Miroku dug in the side pocket of his vest for the demo tape he always carried on him. Once he was able to find it, he handed it over to Sango.

Sango studied the plain looking cassette. "Gladius?"

Miroku crossed his arms "Yeah, we mostly do heavy metal and thrash metal. We were well-known in the local metal scene but we've only gotten a handful of gigs so far with the new lineup. If you'd like I could make you a copy of that tape."

Sango smiled. "I'd like that a lot."

Shortly after Sango handed Miroku back the demo tape, there was a knock at the door. Kirara jumped off of Miroku's lap, scurrying into the kitchen. Miroku motioned for Shiro to come sit next to him. He held the dog's collar as Sango opened the door.

A freckle-faced teenage boy, no more than thirteen dressed in a dirty baseball uniform stepped inside the house, he carried a duffle bag in his right hand and an aluminum bat under his arm. His brown eyes were concealed by a pair of thick-framed glasses repaired with duct tape on the bridge.

"Welcome back, Kohaku. How was practice?"

"Tiring." Kohaku responded, plopping down on the empty side of the couch, he dropped his sports equipment on the floor. Sango took notice of his glasses.

"What happened to your glasses?"

Kohaku sluggishly dragged his feet to the couch. "I accidentally stepped on them this morning."

Sango tapped him on the shoulder. "Not so fast little brother, shoes off."

Kohaku groaned as he untied his cleats, forcefully throwing them at the door. The shoes landed on top of another with a thud. Kohaku looked up from the couch, barely registering that Miroku was in the room. He quickly sat up.

"I didn't realize we had company."

Sango began to introduce her brother. "Miroku, this is my brother Kohaku. Kohaku, this is Miroku, he's a friend of mine from Silent Pines."

The two guys exchanged their hellos. Kohaku flipped the switch on the video game console as well as the TV, he picked up one of the controllers on the ground. "Does dad know you have company over?"

Sango shook her head "Dad hasn't come home yet."

Shiro slipped from Miroku's grasp. The dog strolled over to Kohaku, giving the teenager a couple of sniffs.

"Does he bite?"

Miroku gave Kohaku the same spiel about Shiro that he had told Sango earlier. After letting Kohaku pet him, Shiro made his way back to Miroku's side.

Shiro's ears perked up as the door knob once again turned. This time a tall, burly, mustachioed man in a police uniform entered the house. Miroku's hands began to sweat. Even though Sango had mentioned that her father was a cop, he never expected the man to be the very same officer that let him go on the night of the spray paint incident. He figured it was a coincidence that Sango and Officer Sato shared the same surname, but when Sango told him that her dad was a cop he really should have put two and two together. He crossed his fingers, hoping that Sango's father wouldn't recognize him.

"Welcome home, Daddy." Sango hugged her father as she greeted him at the door.

The officer paused, his eyes locked on Miroku.

"Hello again, _Spray paint_." there was venom in the officer's words.

Miroku scowled, so the officer did remember him after all.

"Daddy, you know Miroku?" Sango asked, confused at her father's remark.

"You could say that we were recently acquainted with one another. Sango honey, would you be a dear and go into the other room, I need to have a chat with your friend."

Miroku stood up as Sango's father walked over towards him. The officer stood like a rock, his face only mere inches away from Miroku's

"Look here Hoshima, I don't know how you know my daughter but since I am a reasonable man and I care about her happiness, I am not going to tell her anything about what happened at the station. I am only going to say this one time and one time only. I don't like you, I don't like your face, and I damn sure don't like your attitude. If you ever try anything on my sweet princess, I will personally shove my boot so far up your ass that it will have to be surgically removed. Do I make myself clear?"

Miroku blankly stared at the officer. "Yes sir."

"Good, then at least we have somewhat of an understanding."

Miroku gulped with a nervous smile across his face. "Is he always so intimidating?"

Kohaku laughed. "Yes. Especially towards guys who want to date my sister. There_ is_ a reason why she's never had a boyfriend."

Sango returned back into the room. "Lemme guess, dad gave him the speech."

Kohaku nodded. "Yep, and this time it involved a painful mention of both boots _and_ asses."

"I'm sorry Miroku, sometimes my dad can be a little hostile, I would offer to have you stay for dinner but I'd rather not have to call you an ambulance because of boot-in-rectum.

Miroku grabbed Shiro's leash. "Thanks for the coffee and the chance to catch-up. However, I probably should head home, Shiro's getting antsy and my parents are probably wondering where the family dog is by now."

Sango nervously tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. "I see, but before you leave I need to get something."

Sango walked into the kitchen, returning back into the front room with a paper pad and a pen. She tore off two strips of paper. She began to write her phone number on one of the strips. She handed the strip of paper with the phone number on it to Miroku.

"Wait a minute, I thought you said you wouldn't give me your number?" He sarcastically remarked.

Sango blushed, remembering what she had said to him at Silent Pines. "I'd like to hang out again soon, if that's okay with you. But no dates. Just as friends."

Miroku took the remaining blank strip of paper, scribbling in his own phone number. He handed the paper over to Sango.

"I'm looking forward to it."

Sango smiled, her cheeks still slightly pink. "See you later then, Miroku?"

"Definitely." Miroku scooped Shiro off the ground. Moments later he was out the door.

Sango and Kohaku both looked out the front window, casually observing the way Miroku stuffed Shiro in the back seat before driving off.

Kohaku whispered to his sister. "Does he always carry his dog around like that?"

* * *

Meanwhile In the car, Miroku tried his hardest to contain his joy. He gave the strip of paper with Sango's phone number on it a soft kiss. Today was a definite victory in his book. He let out an audible YES, as he sped off in the direction of his home. However, when Miroku walked through his front door, holding Shiro, he was greeted by a pissed-off looking teenage boy sitting cross-legged on the couch, mad-dogging him with cold golden brown eyes. The teen was dressed in a uniform-like black jacket with a Japanese flag patch ironed on the shoulder. Vulgar hand-stitched kanji characters ran down the open sides of the long jacket. A wooden katana was firmly placed in between the teen's folded arms. The teen's unruly long black hair shifted to the side in the breeze of the table fan next to him. Whoever this guy was, he looked like bad news.

"**Oi, who the fuck are you?"** the stranger shouted in Japanese. His cold stare locked on Miroku, who could only stand confused in the open doorway.

* * *

**80's Mix Tape: Track 5 **

Sheriff – When I'm with you.


	6. Inuyasha: The Reluctant Visitor

**Chapter 6 – Inuyasha: The Reluctant Visitor**

Miroku blinked in confusion at hearing the stranger on the couch's remark. _Did that guy just ask who I am; In MY own house? _

"Uh, I live here. Frankly, I think I should be asking you that question." Miroku responded, still taken aback. Just who the hell was this guy?

Just then, the door behind Miroku slammed shut as his dad angrily brushed past him, taking a seat at one of the chairs at the dining room table.

"Dad, who's the guy on the couch?"

Kyo looked over his shoulder at his confused son. "Talk to your mother, I had nothing to do with this."

Minutes later, Chieko called the entire family into the living room for a family meeting. Miroku's dad was still very pissed off about something, Rin sat at the table complaining that she needed to get back to her homework, and Chieko nervously tapped her foot on the hardwood floor, preparing to give an explanation to her disgruntled husband and confused children.

"So who's the weirdo on the couch, mom?" Rin asked looking right at the boy on the couch.

Chieko cleared her throat as she walked over to the reluctant stranger. "This is Inuyasha Taisho, He will be staying with us for a while.

"Taisho? Like the elecrtronics conglomerate? You mean _he's _the visitor?" Miroku butted in.

"You mean you don't remember Inuyasha, dear? You two used to play together all the time when we visited Izayoi-obasan in Tokyo."

Miroku scratched his head, he vaguely remembered the kid from years ago but there seemed to be something much different about the boy sitting on the couch. He tried to think back to that time, remembering that the kid used to follow him around like a lost puppy. And for some reason, he always had a stupid grin on his face when doing so. A far cry from the teen's current grumpy disposition. "yeah, but that was over fourteen years ago, mom. You really expect me to remember every little detail from when I was five?"

"Well, no...but how do I put this in the right words? You see, your father and I are his godparents and since he has no other family that is willing to take him in,we..."

Kyo interrupted his wife. "There is no "we" in the picture, your mother planned all this a month ago and didn't tell me a goddamn thing about it. I don't see why the brat couldn't stay in Tokyo. Look at him, Chieko. He's a delinquent! We absolutely cannot have this punk running around the neighborhood making us look worse. Bad enough we already have a dopehead son."

"Kyo, Hush!" Chieko snapped at her husband. "Anyways as I was saying I offered to take him in, so everyone do your best to make Inuyasha feel welcome in our home. This is his first time in the US and it would be great if you, Miroku, could help him adjust as much as possible. Please, go easy on him, he just lost his mother and..."

"Stop mom. I get it."

Chieko clasped her hands together. "Good, now if you don't mind. Take him to your room. Your father and I need to have a little chat."

Miroku motioned for Inuyasha to follow him upstairs. "Come on. I'll show you where you can crash at."

Inuyasha grabbed his suitcase, reluctantly he followed Miroku upstairs. Once Inuyasha was inside of Miroku's room, Miroku reached into the back of his closet, taking out a navy blue sleeping bag. He tossed the roll to Inuyasha.

"That's your bed for now. We will work on cleaning the spare room tomorrow or something."

Inuyasha sat the rolled up sleeping bag aside. "Thanks, I guess."

Miroku reached into his dresser for some clean clothes. He pulled out a clean pair of boxers, jeans, and a t-shirt. "I'm going to go take a shower, I'll be back in fifteen minutes or so. My parents should be done downstairs so if you're hungry my mom should be starting on dinner soon."

"Also, I wouldn't roll out the sleeping bag anytime soon, unless you want the dog claiming the spot first, he's known to be very territorial." Miroku said, pointing to the _large dog_ curled up on the bed.

Miroku wadded his clean clothes under his arm as he headed towards the bathroom, leaving Inuyasha and Shiro alone in the room.

Curiously, Inuyasha crept over towards the sleeping dog at the foot of Miroku's bed. The dog's ears twitched as the stranger's hand came closer to the akita-inu's white fur. Inuyasha glanced at the dog's red bone-shaped ID tag on the collar. 'Shiro' what a common name for a white dog.

Inuyasha tapped the sleeping dog on the head. The dog poked his head up, immediately taking notice of the stranger in the room. The two of them stared at one another until the dog had enough of it and went back to sleep. Inuyasha leaned against the bed, fidgeting with his wooden sword as he waited for that Miroku guy to return into the room. He recalled what went down in the living room earlier with Chieko's family. _They_ were confused at the situation? How about him? Up until two days ago he was on the streets of Tokyo and now he was stuck in some weird beach town an entire ocean away where hardly anyone spoke his language. Inuyasha knew some English from watching American movies but it was definitely not enough to carry on a conversation, well unless the conversations were mostly swear words like fuck, shit, or asshole.

Inuyasha scowled, This was all that jerkass Sesshomaru's fault, if Sesshomaru had just let him live in his mom's apartment and not have tipped off the landlady that Izayoi had passed away he wouldn't be in this mess. It wasn't like the senile old bat really checked on the tenants in the first place, he could have gotten a job. He could have paid the rent. If it wasn't for Sesshomaru's meddling he'd still be home.

But no, that jerk had to ruin everything. After his mom died, that fucker wouldn't even take him in. What was that guy's damage anyways? Inuyasha suspected that the reason Sesshomaru was such a dick to him his entire life was because he was scared that Inuyasha would take over Taisho Corp. As if. Like he would want to run some stuffy ass business, even if it meant that he would be a billionaire. All of his life his older half-brother had it out for him because he didn't find Inuyasha worthy of the Taisho name, his mother's family was far from wealthy. And as for silver spoons; He must've lost his in the mail. It only got worse three months ago when his mom died, eliminating the only buffer from Sesshomaru's wrath. It wasn't Inuyasha's fault that his mom and the late billionaire Touga Taisho, hooked up seventeen years ago and had him. Sesshomaru always had to hold it over Inuyasha's head that he was the reason that his parents divorced and he was the reason that Touga Taisho died in the car crash on the way to the hospital seventeen years ago. At least the bullshit flight from Tokyo was over with and he was no longer squished in the aisle between two fat, sweaty, Hawaiian-Shirt clad American tourists. Fitting that Sesshomaru wouldn't have sprung for a first class ticket despite being one of the richest men in Japan.

Miroku walked back into the room, toweling his hair dry. "So, is my mom making dinner?"

"Fuck if I know." Inuyasha snarled, twirling the hilt of the wooden sword around in his palm.

Miroku shrugged his shoulders, plopping down on the bed. "Snappy."

Inuyasha glanced around Miroku's bedroom. It was a typical guy's room, nothing more. The only things that really stood out were the posters and the guitars he had lined up on the wall. Obviously this Miroku character was some kind of rock musician, his room certainly reeked of pot enough to be one.

"So, are you some kind of musician?" Inuyasha asked, pointing to the guitars lying against the wall.

"Yeah, I guess you can say that." Miroku responded as he doodled with a pen in his sketchbook.

"What do you play?"

Miroku turned to face Inuyasha. "Heavy metal and thrash metal mostly. You wanna hear my demo tape?"

Inuyasha crossed his arms. "I'll pass."

"What's with the sword?"

"Protection. I never know if anyone is going to start shit with me, if they do I beat the fuck out of them."

Miroku sat down his pen. "You do realize that American thugs are an entirely different class from what you're used to right? Also, I'd drop the tough guy delinquent act. The last thing you'd want is to get jumped, or worse, shot.

"Feh." Inuyasha scoffed.

Miroku sat his sketchbook back on it's respective spot on the stereo side-table. "Anyways, I'm going to head to my buddy Jimmy's house. You can go downstairs if you want. The TV remote should be on the coffee table."

"Whatever." Inuyasha huffed.

When Miroku turned off the lights, Inuyasha headed out of the room and downstairs to the couch in the living room. Picking up the remote from the coffee table, he turned on the TV. Inuyasha flipped through the channels, trying to find at least something he could watch. Eventually he stopped on the MTV channel, even though it was in English like everything else on the TV, at least music videos were pretty much universal in their appeal.

Inuyasha turned down the TV to where the sound was almost mute. He looked around the living room, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings. This place sure was different. It was nothing like the small Tokyo apartment he shared with his mother. This place was well-furnished and kind of stuffy on the inside. It looked like it belonged in the pages in a homemaker magazine. The old apartment was small but it was comfy, Inuyasha didn't own a couch or anything but the pillows and futon mattresses strewn all over the tatami mat floor made the apartment cozy, and not to mention his mom always had a pantry full of cup ramen for him to chow down on while he would wait for her to get back from work every night.

Inuyasha walked to the front window. Moving the curtains aside, he looked out towards the street. Cars passed by every now and then. He could see some of the neighborhood kids in the street skateboarding and jumping a makeshift ramp. This San Diego place was a world of difference away from the bustling metropolis of Tokyo. Inuyasha had never lived this close to suburbia in his entire life, or a beach for that matter. Even though Chieko's home was a little ways off from the beach itself he could still smell the ocean breeze when he stepped outside the front door and onto the porch. Shiro followed him outside, the teen tried to shoo the dog away but he kept put over the top of Inuyasha's shoes. Inuyasha tried to move the hairy beast but when he tried to grab Shiro's collar, the dog let out a growl. The smell of cooked meat in the air wafted against his nose. Someone on the block was using a grill. His stomach rumbled for a split second. Inuyasha stretched his arms in the air. It wasn't even sunset, yet he was already bored out of his mind, and apparently hungry. Reaching into his jacket pocket, Inuyasha pulled out a pack of lucky strikes. Thankfully, he was able to find one of those plastic crap lighters in the backseat of the cab. Hopefully, Chieko wouldn't mind if he smoked on the porch as it would seem kind of rude to do it inside the living room. Inuyasha leaned against the house, taking in the sights of suburbia from the shade of the front porch. He fanned himself with his jacket, even though it was only springtime and the weather fairly mild for Southern California, Inuyasha still felt really hot underneath his layers of black clothing. This would take some time to get used to, like hell he would run around without a Jacket to cover himself up with.

"If you're feeling this hot already, just wait until summer." A voice echoed from the doorway.

Inuyasha glanced over his shoulder to see that Miroku guy step onto the porch.

"I thought you were going to your friend's place?" Inuyasha said, taking a drag of his cigarette.

Miroku sat down on one of the chairs on the porch. "I wanted to but he's not home at the moment. So whatcha doing out here?"

Inuyasha crossed his arms. "Beats me, It's not like there's much I _can_ do."

"Mind if I bum one of those?" Miroku asked, pointing to the cigarette in Inuyasha's hand.

Inuyasha tossed Miroku the pack of cigarettes. "Knock yourself out."

Miroku studied the pack of cigarettes. "Luckies huh? Not a bad choice, I'm more of a cowboy killer man myself."

"Do you need a light?"

"Nah, I got my own." Miroku said, reaching into the pocket of his battle jacket for his Zippo.

"So, you wanna take a walk?" Miroku asked. "I mean you're going to be with us for a while and It's only fair that you know your surroundings."

Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders. "I guess, not like I have anything else to do."

Miroku tossed Inuyasha's cigs back at him. "Cool, follow me then."

Miroku and Inuyasha walked about the neighborhood. Miroku of course pointed out his neighbors and useful tidbits like houses to avoid. He showed Inuyasha where Jimmy lived, as well as Stony and Andrew's homes. Inuyasha carefully took in his surroundings, this suburb wasn't what he expected. A lot of the houses in this neighborhood looked really old and outdated. Miroku explained that the reason why all the homes looked old was because his neighborhood was one of the oldest in the area, as most of the houses went back to the turn of the century or earlier. Miroku turned on Pomona st., walking right past Sango's house. Inuyasha noticed that Miroku paused in front of it for a brief second.

"So what's the deal with that house? You stopped in front of it."

Miroku stopped walking. "My friend Sango lives there. Before you arrived I was with her."

"Is she hot?"

"See for yourself, she's coming outside right now." Miroku said, pointing to Sango stepping out her front door in what looked like a Karate gi. Her hair was pulled up in another high ponytail. Her ranking belt sat tied around her waist. Miroku felt his palms sweat, upon seeing that Sango had the rank of black-belt. She mentioned she did martial arts during their conversation but he never imagine she'd have such a high rank. For some reason he felt kind of turned on after knowing that fact.

Inuyasha took another look at Sango. "Martial artist? She's pretty hot. Too hot for you, that's for sure."

Miroku smirked as he laughed at Inuyasha's comment. "Damn, you've only been here a few hours and already you're busting my chops. You'll get along great with the guys." He then yelled from across the street, waving his hand at her to get Sango's attention. "Hey, Sango!"

Sango stood back for a moment, puzzled that he'd show up at her house again after he just left two hours ago. Miroku ran up to her before she could get into her dad's car.

"Miroku, you're back." Sango then focused her attention on Inuyasha standing beside him. "Who's he?" she asked.

Miroku introduced the two. "Inuyasha; Sato, Sango. Sango; Taisho, Inuyasha."

Sango held out her hand to give Miroku's friend a handshake. "Hi there."

Inuyasha stared at her, confused at what exactly she wanted him to do.

"Cripes, I should have mentioned that Inuyasha is from Japan and only speaks Japanese." Miroku butted in, embarrassed that he forgot to tell Sango that Inuyasha didn't understand English.

Sango's face flushed with embarrassment at her own mistake. "Gomen, Inuyasha-kun." she apologized, greeting him with a bow instead of a handshake. Inuyasha returned the same gesture.

"Anyways, where are you headed, Sango?" Miroku asked.

"Karate. I, along with some of the other advanced students, help our sensei with instructing the beginner class on Mondays and Thursdays. I probably should've mentioned that earlier."

"Yeah you should have. I would've loved to watch a demonstration." Miroku responded with a soft smile.

Sango's cheeks blushed at Miroku's statement. Her dad honked the horn to get her attention. "Sorry, Miroku, but I really must get going."

The boys watched as she hopped in the front seat of the tan Honda Civic. Miroku felt a shiver go down his spine when Dan shot him the two-finger 'I'm watching you' sign from the driver's seat. If he ever managed to get on that man's good side, it'd be nothing short of a miracle.

"You have a thing for her, don't you, Elvis?" Inuyasha remarked.

Miroku sighed. "A 'thing' is putting it lightly."

"Anyways, we should probably get home. I bet by now my mom has dinner on the stove, or worst-case-scenario she ordered Chinese takeout or pizza."

* * *

The next morning, Inuyasha woke up at 7am. he slept, but it wasn't a pleasant experience since Miroku's dumb dog kept trying to spoon with him on the sleeping bag. Again, he went on the front porch to get some air. Unlike yesterday, it was dead silent besides the whirring of the mosquito fogger truck in the distance.

Suddenly, he heard the screen door open. Miroku stepped outside fully dressed in his usual attire, sans vest. "You're up early." he remarked.

Miroku stretched his arms, yawning. "I feel kind of hungry. Wanna ride with me to go get some breakfast? I'll pay."

Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders; he was never one to turn down a free meal. "I guess."

Miroku and Inuyasha walked to the curb where Miroku's Camaro was parked. Inuyasha ran his hand over the shiny onyx hood of the car. Miroku had apparently taken extremely good care of the car as it looked like it was practically brand new.

"Nice Camaro, what year is it?"

Miroku unlocked the door to the driver's seat. "it's a 1984 Z28"

Miroku leaned over the center console to unlock the passenger door. "it's unlocked."

Inuyasha hopped in the front seat, moving some wadded up papers that were in his way.

"I don't know if seat-belt laws were a thing in Japan, but make sure to buckle up. If not I'll get fined." Miroku stated as he started the car.

Inuyasha quickly buckled himself up as the Camaro sped out from the curb.

Within a few minutes Miroku pulled into the parking lot of an orange and brown building. Through the windows of the building it looked a casual dining restaurant, with people sitting down eating at booths on the inside. Inuyasha stepped out of the car. He scoped out the parking lot, noticing that the place was pretty packed. "Welcome to breakfast in America!" Miroku quipped. "Get it? Like the Supertramp song."

Blankly, Inuyasha stared at Miroku. "No, I don't."

"Looks crowded inside." Inuyasha grumbled.

Miroku locked the doors to the car. "Yeah, it usually is at this time, but they do have the best omelets in town!"

Once on the inside of the restaurant Inuyasha looked around some more, the place had a down-home feel to it. Lots of country themed nick-knacks were high upon the shelves as decoration and the curtains on the windows looked very much like picnic blankets with a red and white checkerboard pattern. Miroku walked up to the ultra-peppy hostess at the front to request a table.

"Hi, ya'll welcome to Red Rooster's! How many will I be seating today?" The hostess asked, in a painfully exaggerated southern accent.

"Just two please." Miroku told the hostess.

"Of course. Right this way."

The hostess led Miroku and Inuyasha to a booth near one of the windows. She handed the two men the menu and a flyer with the Monday breakfast specials on it.

"Your server should be here shortly, sugah. If there's anything you need, don't hesitate to ask." The hostess said before walking off to resume her post at the front.

Miroku looked down at the menu, eyeballing what to choose for breakfast. He shut the menu.

"Well I already know what I'm going to get how about you?"

Inuyasha's stomach grumbled as he looked at the entree pictures on the menu. Finally, he pointed at the pancake platter. "The pancakes look alright I suppose. You ever had them?"

"Yeah, they're pretty good."

Soon, the waitress for their table arrived. Inuyasha still had his nose stuck in the menu until Miroku tapped him on the shoulder. He looked up from the menu to see a petite, young, raven-haired, Asian girl about his age in a red flannel short-sleeved shirt, jeans, and an apron tied around her waist with a notepad in her hand. She had a pretty bad bruise on her nose, probably from being accident-prone he guessed. Fastened to her shirt, the girl had a plastic nametag with a rooster on it that read "Kagome H".

"Hi, welcome to Red Rooster's, I'm Kagome. I'll be your server today. So, what kind of drinks can I get you started on?"

"Just coffee for me, thanks." Miroku answered.

Kagome looked at Inuyasha whose nose was still stuck behind the menu. "And for you sir?"

Miroku nudged Inuyasha on the shoulder, trying to get him to pay attention.

"What?!" Inuyasha snarled at him. "I don't know what to say. I can't pronounce this shit."

"I apologize for my friend, Miss Kagome, he has a limited grasp on the English language."

Kagome giggled. "It's perfectly okay. Lemme guess, Japanese right? And don't worry, I understood him just fine."

Kagome repeated herself, this time in Japanese. "So what will it be?"

Inuyasha slumped down in his seat, avoiding eye contact with the young waitress. "Orange Juice, no ice."

Kagome scribbled both of the orders in the notepad in her hand. "And for the entrees?"

"Yeah, I'll have the southwestern omelet, extra peppers." Miroku said, pointing to the item on the menu.

"And for you?

"Pancakes." Inuyasha grumbled.

"Now that comes with either bacon or sausage, which one would you prefer?"

"Bacon. I guess."

Kagome scribbled the rest of the order down in her notepad. "Alright, your food should be ready shortly. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

Miroku handed the menus over to her. "Nah, I think we're good here."

The two men watched as Kagome walked off into the kitchen across the way.

Miroku nudged Inuyasha on the shoulder yet again. "Say, our waitress was pretty cute huh?"

"Feh. Looked like another dumb chick to me."

Miroku was positively shocked at his statement. How could Inuyasha even think that a petite beauty like Kagome was not cute?

"You're not gay are you?"

Inuyasha's face turned bright red upon hearing Miroku's audacious question.

"What? No! I just didn't think that chick was all that cute." Inuyasha objected, even though he actually did find the waitress very attractive but not because of the reason Miroku was probably thinking of.

"Ever had a girlfriend then?"

"Yeah, but I don't want to talk about it."

"Did something bad happen?"

"You just don't know when to quit do you? Anyways, not like it matters anyways. Kikyo's gone now."

"Gone? As in moved away?"

"More like moved six feet under." Inuyasha muttered.

"She's dead? How did she die?"

Inuyasha sighed. "That's just it, I don't know. I only found out a few days ago, right before I was shoved onto a plane and ended up here.

Miroku fidgeted with the salt shaker. "So let me get this straight, you lost your girlfriend and your mom within the same month? Holy shit, that's gotta be brutal."

* * *

Minutes later, Kagome made her way back to the table with the orders. She carefully placed all the items on the table, careful not to spill the warm syrup in the small pitcher next to the pancakes."

"Say, Miss Kagome. Would you like to join us?" Miroku offered, patting his hand down on the empty seat in the booth.

Kagome shook her head. "Thanks for the offer but I must get back to work. I already used up my fifteen minute break today. And I have to go study for finals when I get off my shift. I was actually supposed to be off because my school had a student holiday to prepare for exams, but you know. work has its own schedule."

"What school do you go to Kagome, if you don't mind me asking? I just graduated from Buchanan high not too long ago and I don't think I've ever seen you around." Miroku prodded on.

"Oh, that's because I don't live in Portillo Beach. I'm a senior at Elmwood Preparatory Academy in La Jolla." The waitress responded.

"Elmwood? The Elmwood? Where the children of politicians and celebrities attend?"

Kagome nodded as she topped off Miroku's coffee. "Yep, that's the place."

"Feh, what's so great about this Elmwood school. Sounds like just another holding pen for rich brats." Inuyasha scoffed as he swirled bits of pancake around in the syrup.

Miroku leaned against the back of the booth. "You don't understand, some of the finest girls in the Southern California attend that school. To be a fly on those walls would be living the dream."

"I thought you were into that Sango chick?"

"Sango? You mean Sango Sato?" Kagome inquired.

"Yeah, that would be her. Kagome, do you know her?" Miroku responded.

"Yeah, she's the team captain for St. Catherine's Volleyball team. Our schools are sports rivals, we played against them last week and they absolutely slaughtered us. She's quite the athlete."

Just then, a loud ding came from the front of the restaurant. "Hey, Kagome, the boss wants you to take orders from the front end. Olivia just went on break. " Shouted the hostess from the front.

"Oh crap, looks like I'm wanted elsewhere." Kagome said as she picked up her stack of guest checks. "I don't think I ever got your name Mr..?"

"I'm Miroku and the guy across from me is Inuyasha."

Kagome smiled. "Well, Miroku it was nice meeting you both. Is everything okay here for now?"

Miroku nodded. "Just fine, thanks."

"Super! If you need anything else, just raise the rooster at the table and I'll be back." Kagome exclaimed, pointing to the plastic rooster slider on a pole sitting next to the salt and pepper shakers. She left the table yet again, this time to tend to an elderly couple sitting further down the aisle.

"What the hell was that all about? 'Would you like to join us'." Inuyasha sarcastically mumbled in between bites of syrup drenched pancakes.

Miroku shrugged his shoulders. "What? I thought we could enjoy the extra company."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Liar."

Half an hour later, Kagome returned with the check. Miroku paid the check and waited on Kagome to return with his change from the twenty dollar bill.

Kagome quickly returned with the change. Miroku stuffed the change in his pocket. He pulled out a ten and sat it on the table as a tip.

"Thanks for the excellent service Miss Kagome, I hope I continue to sit in your section." Miroku remarked with a wink as he and Inuyasha left the table.

"What was the money on the table for?" Inuyasha asked as he walked out the door; unfamiliar with the American custom of tipping your server.

"I always tip the waitress, more so if they are total cuties like Kagome."

"Didya have to tip her so much though? That ten could have bought a whole 'nother meal and a dessert."

Miroku laughed as he unlocked the driver's side of the Camaro. "You have a lot to learn, my new friend."

Inuyasha buckled himself up in the passenger seat. "Oi Miroku, I've been meaning to ask you something."

Miroku turned his keys in the ignition. "Yeah?"

"Do you know why your dog won't leave me alone?"

* * *

****80's Slang/General Glossary ****

****Cowboy Killers – ******Marlboro 100's (Red Box) **

****Supertramp –****** A 70's rock group based out of the UK, best known for their hits "Goodbye Stranger" and "Take The Long Way Home" **

* * *

****80's Mix Tape: Track 6 ****

**D.R.I. - Modern World**


	7. Card Games of the Heart

**Chapter 7 – Card Games Of The Heart**

Sango lazily poked around the sticky rice in her Tupperware container. It was lunch time at St. Catherine's but she did not feel like eating all that much, mostly because she was nervous about her upcoming economics final. She hadn't studied as much as she originally planned on doing this time around. As valedictorian and president of the student council, she had been swamped with upcoming preparations for prom and senior day. Originally, she didn't plan on attending her senior prom because she felt it would be a waste of her time, but as fate would have it she got roped into buying tickets when someone threw her name in the nomination pile for prom queen, most likely as a joke. Sango rubbed at the temples of her head. She tried not to think how bad she would choke on her test. She needed a distraction right now and didn't care where or who it came from. She glanced over at her friend Riley O'Brien sitting beside her. Usually, Riley and Sango ate lunch together but today the redhead was busy cramming for her economics final as well.

Sango peered around the school cafeteria, everybody seemed to be either eating, studying, or deep in conversation. She scooped up a mouthful of rice with her chopsticks, feeling if she didn't eat at least some of her food her stomach would regret it later. As she was trying to eat, two girls had moved into the seats adjacent from her and Riley. Sango looked up from her lunch to find two pairs of inquisitive brown eyes staring back at her. The girls sitting across from her had serious up-to-no-good expressions on their faces. At that moment Sango began to regret her wish for a distraction. Why of all people did the fates have to send her Amy Tran and Miranda Luna; the two biggest gossips at St. Catherine's? Amy wasn't so bad on her own, in fact, Sango thought of her as a good friend. But then there was Miranda, nothing ever got past her. Ever. Sango shoved her Tupperware aside, not really wanting to know what kind of scheme the two popular girls had planned.

"Oh...Hi Amy, Miranda, I didn't see you two there." Sango addressed the two women across from her

Amy tossed her long, black, braid behind her shoulder. She grabbed a pocket compact and a cherry lip-smacker out of her purse. Staring into the mirror, she applied the glittery balm on her lips. Miranda followed a similar routine, only instead of applying lip balm she was making touch ups on her already caked-on eye makeup. Sango coughed when Miranda started to spray some very strongly floral scented perfume just above her chest.

Miranda was the first to speak up. "So, Sango, you found a date for prom yet?"

Sango closed the lid on her Tupperware container of rice. "Miranda, I already told you I'm not going. I only bought tickets because you and Amy pressured me into it. I know it was you two that threw my name on the nominee roster."

"Thanks for that by the way." Sango said in a snarky, deadpan tone.

Miranda smiled wickedly, "Really? That's a shame...wouldn't Miroku be disappointed if you didn't ask him? I mean, you ARE going out with him right?"

Sango paused. "How do you know about Miroku? I never mentioned anything about him. Ever."

Miranda laughed. "Don't play dumb, Sango. We all watched you get into that Camaro of his last Monday. And we also know that he's walked you home from school every day since. Just fess up that you're going out with him."

"I-I'm not playing dumb. I just want to know how you know him."

Miranda stopped laughing as she was taken aback by Sango's Naivety. "Oh wait, you're serious! Are you that sheltered that you didn't know?"

"Know what?" Sango spat in a defensive tone.

"Only that he's bad news, Sango." Amy said. "He's a total playboy. He's dated and dumped so many girls from Buchanan High it's not even remotely funny. He even dated girls from our school like Lacy Killgallen and Kristi Fan from the class of '85."

"To be fair, Amy, EVERYONE 'dated' Lacy Killgallen." Riley butted in, looking up from her notes.

Sango zipped her belongings in her lunch kit. Her gut wretched upon hearing that her intuition was true, Miroku was indeed a bad boy and not only that, he apparently had a string of exes and sexual conquests to prove it. "Look, I'm not dating him. So can we just drop the subject already."

Miranda scooched closer to sango behind the lunch table. "So be honest, did he live up to the hype? Was the legendary Miroku Hoshima of Buchanan High as good in bed as the rumors say?"

Sango scowled at Miranda's assumption. "If you're assuming that I'd throw away my dignity to have sex with that burnout, you're way off base. Besides, he's not even my type. I like clean, sensitive guys; not perverted potheads who ogle my chest and feel up my butt when I'm trying to talk to them."

Amy snorted at Sango's frustration with Miroku's perverted antics. "Sango, if I was a guy and my girlfriend had a butt like yours I'd probably try to feel it up too. Just look at it, you have a perfect peach of a butt. I'm totally jealous."

"Can you stop talking about my ass? Christ, Amy, you're just as bad as he is."

"But you got in his car didn't you? You must have gone somewhere? Don't tell me he took you to Evershore!" Miranda gasped as she continued her interrogation into Sango's love life.

Sango's face flushed red. "What? No! He gave me a ride home because it was raining. I invited him in my house, we had coffee and small talk." Sango stated, crossing her arms, Her fingertips pressed against her forehead as she let out a deep, exasperated, sigh. "That's all that happened. Now can we please drop the subject?"

"Figures you would totally lead the guy on like that."

Sango shot Miranda a confused glare as she rose from the lunch table, slamming her palms down on the cold surface. "Whaddya mean by '_lead him on'_?!" she yelled, just loud enough to where the whole cafeteria went silent for a minute.

Miranda sighed. "Sango, you don't invite a guy inside of your house and not expect him to think that he's going to get laid. You totally blue-balled him. Miroku didn't offer you a ride home because he felt chivalrous, he gave you a ride home in hopes that you would let him fuck you, or at the least get a blowjob. He probably thinks that you are some kind of frigid bitch for not putting out."

Annoyed, Sango rested her face in her hands. She wished that Miranda and Amy would just stop with their inquisition already. Miroku wasn't her boyfriend, period. But if she did get intimate with him, would her first time feel good or would it hurt? She'd seen sex scenes as they were portrayed in movies, would it be like that? She imagined herself intertwined with Miroku, his lips not only kissing hers but elsewhere all over her body on sensitive areas like her ears, neck, and breasts. Would he sweetly moan her name while thrusting inside her? Sango lifted her head from her palms when she felt something wet trickling down her wrist, she pulled her hand away from her face. She paused when she saw fresh blood on her palm.

"Sango you're not a virgin are you?" Amy asked as Sango hastily tried to wipe away her nosebleed with a paper napkin.

"Of course I am! What did you think?!" Sango snapped.

An awkward silence surrounded the group of girls.

Riley placed her hand on Sango's shoulder. "If it makes you feel any better, I haven't done it either."

Sango smiled, "Thanks Riley."

Miranda motioned over to Amy. "Come on Amy, we should leave the two virgins alone. Maybe they can start a knitting circle or something."

"Bite Me, Miranda!" Sango snarled, shooting the girl her middle finger.

Miranda cocked her head up. "Figures the two _virgins_ wouldn't have a sense of humor."

Once Miranda and Amy were out of earshot, Sango and Riley continued their conversation at the lockers.

"Don't mind Miranda, Sango. Just because she's loose, it doesn't mean we all have to follow her example."

Sango sighed, "I know that, but do you think what she said was true, y'know about Miroku only wanting to be around me because he wants sex. I mean I don't like him in that way at all but I'd still like to consider him a friend."

"Did he try to come on to you at any point during his visit?"

"Well, no. He was very polite actually. Like I said before; conversation, coffee, done. He did give me a hug but that's because I was crying, thinking about my mom. I honestly want to see him again soon because he's not at all like I expected."

"I think you just found your answer, I don't know a whole lot about how guys think despite the fact that I have six brothers but I do know that a solid friendship knows no gender. Besides, who knows maybe if given time your friendship with him can bloom into something a little more intimate if you want it to. Who gives a crap if the guy has slept around, albeit a lot. But I still think It's safe to say that you both are happy where you are right? So don't worry about it."

Riley's curly ginger locks brushed against Sango's cheek as she embraced her in a friendly hug, "Come on, we should head back to class, the bell is about to ring."

"Right." Sango nodded as she quickly threw her lunch kit in her locker.

Once she settled back into her seat in the classroom, Sango began to feel the effects of not eating lunch. Her stomach was rumbling something fierce. At least the school-day was almost over. Riley's optimistic advice repeated over and over in Sango's head as she tried to concentrate on taking notes for her history assignment. Her concentration was soon interrupted by a paper airplane striking her in the back of the head. Sango reached behind her desk chair and unfolded the airplane, inside was a note telling her to look out the window. She leaned over the left side of her desk to where the window was. Outside she could see a group of five guys in letterman jackets from Buchanan high. Two of them stood on the hood of a silver Firebird sports-car, holding up a sign asking if the 'babes' from St. Catherine's wanted to take them to prom. Sango rolled her eyes and went back to focusing on her assignment. She didn't understand why people got so hyped up about prom, As far as she was concerned it was just an over-glorified party that led to regrettable sex and alcohol poisoning afterwards. But she did have two tickets in her backpack, one for her and one for. Sango shook her head, why would she even think that Miroku would go to the prom with her. He probably had much better things to do on a Saturday night. Sango looked out the window again. This time, Mother Superior shooed away the teenage boys from campus with a water gun. Who knew that a middle aged woman in a habit could run that fast? Sango let out a laugh when the boys sped off in the car.

Sister Mary Frances: the nun teaching the history class shot Sango a death glare. "Is there something _amusing_ about the 51,000 soldiers that perished at the Battle of Gettysburg, Miss Sato? Need I remind you that all of this will be on your final exam."

Sango slumped down in her seat. "No, Sister Mary Frances. Not at all."

Sango rested her head on her knuckles, she was more than ready for this school-day to end.

* * *

Miroku parked his car on the curb outside of Jimmy's house. He hoped the guys wouldn't be too pissed off at him for missing practice due to community service for two weekends in a row. He reached behind the passenger seat to pick up his guitar case. Miroku then stepped outside of the Camaro to lock the doors. He trudged up the long circular driveway of Jimmy's parent's Mc Mansion. Once he made it to the garage, Miroku tapped on the metal door five times in a rapid pattern, signaling to the guys inside to let him in. The garage door lifted open with a motorized creak. Jimmy and the other members of Gladius were sitting on the garage couch and in lawn chairs downing some beers.

Stony tossed Miroku a bottle of Coors from out of the igloo cooler. Miroku quickly caught it in midair, he grabbed the bottle opener off of his car keys to open the bottle. The bottle cap made an audible **pop **as it was opened. He slowly nursed the beer bottle, making sure that the contents inside didn't overflow from the opening.

Miroku sat down in one of the empty lawn chairs. "Hey guys, sorry I didn't make it last Friday, or the Friday before that."

Stony took a swig of his beer. "I would usually say don't worry about it but you know we need all the time we have to practice if we are ever going to meet our deadline to get our battle of the bands spot at Meridian. I'm not angry, just a little cheesed off that you didn't even call us with a warning beforehand. I mean, you told Jimmy but kept Andy and me in the dark. Not cool."

Andrew nodded in agreement with Stony.

"So how's trashman duty?" Jimmy joked, fiddling around with the frets on his guitar.

"Oh not too bad. Read it and weep, men!" Miroku chirped, slamming down the piece of paper with Sango's phone number on the pool table.

"Remember that really cute girl I told you about...the one I met at Silent Pines? Well I kind of ran into her Monday as she was leaving school."

"So, what school does she go to? Jefferson? Buchanan?" Jimmy asked

"Neither, I ran into her outside of St. Catherine's."

Jimmy's icy blue eyes lit up at the mere mention of St. Catherine's. Miroku knew that look all too well, Jimmy was about to go on one of his perverted tangents about slutty schoolgirls.

"Ah, so she's a St. Cat's chick! I swear to God, Jesus, and Mother Mary that nothing gets my dick harder than a plaid skirt and knee socks. All I can see when a girl wears that uniform is a horny little cock-slut waiting to guzzle down my cum like it was the blood of Christ himself."

Jimmy playfully elbowed Miroku in the shoulder. "So, how was she? Was she a screamer? I bet she was a screamer."

"You did end up fucking her, right?"

Miroku rubbed the back of his head. "Well not exactly, she's pretty convinced on being just friends at the moment. I haven't even kissed her yet."

"So, if you didn't fuck her. Then what did you do with her?"

Miroku sighed. "Nothing, absolutely nothing. I gave her a ride home, we talked and had some coffee at her place. That's it. As enticing as screwing the sin out of Sango sounds, I don't want to move too fast."

"You're acting like you actually want to date this chick or something?"

"Yeah, I kind of do. Besides, I'm pretty sure she's a virgin and I don't want to scare her away."

Jimmy spat out his beer. "_A Virgin?_ You're telling me that you have a hard on for the one Catholic schoolgirl who's not getting dicked down every night?" The blonde began to laugh at his friend's expense. A look of confusion spread across the man's face when Miroku didn't return any laughter. "Wait, you're serious?"

"What? So I want to date Sango before plowing her." Miroku remarked as he chugged the last of the backwash in the beer bottle. "What's so weird about that?"

Jimmy moved a couple of strands of his messy long hair from out of his face when he regained his composure. "It's not the dating part that sends up a red flag, its the whole concept of 'taking it slow', It's just not like you. The Miroku _I_ _know_ would have already hit it and then some."

"You got that right. Then again, all four of us have had our fair share of sexual conquests." Stony piped in as he took a drag of his cigarette.

Stony glanced over at Jimmy. "Remember how you and Miroku were late to your own high school graduation because you two were double-teaming that one really stacked biology teacher in the janitor's closet."

Jimmy finished off his beer, sinking the bottle in the trash can through the cheap basketball hoop above it. "Ah, Leona Lundgren, it was worth the wait for _that_ anatomy lesson."

Miroku nodded, taking another beer out from the cooler. "That woman certainly taught me a few things that weren't on her final exam."

"You still never forget your first lay though, I remember mine like it was yesterday." Andrew said as he leaned further into the beat-up couch.

Stony snorted. "That's because it probably _was_ yesterday."

Andrew scowled at his friend's remark. "Fuck you Stony! For the record I've had lots of women, even though you three always poke fun at my "baby face" it's gotten me laid more times than I can count on both hands. In fact older women seem to love it." Andrew angrily chugged down his beer.

"Whoa, settle down Junior!" Stony retorted. "Besides, none of us could ever hold a candle to the sex god that was Frank. Still can't believe he's been gone for a year and three months already."

The four men gave a moment of silence for their fallen friend.

Miroku picked up the piece of paper with Sango's number on it from off of the pool table, he carefully stuffed it into one of the pockets on his vest.

"So, when are you going to see this Sango chick again?" Jimmy asked.

"Hopefully very soon, when we talked on the phone last night she said she would drop by my house after school to pick up a copy of our demo tape. She also mentioned that she had to ask me a very important question."

"You think that's a good idea? Bringing a girl into your house, remember the last time you brought a girl over, your mom totally flipped her shit."

Miroku let out a nervous laugh. "Well to be fair, that girl was pretty drunk when I brought her over. I really wasn't expecting my mother to be up and about at two in the morning. Besides, Sango is a parent's dream; she's smart, polite, and the valedictorian of her senior class."

"Virgin, valedictorian, really cute. So, she's pretty much out of your league then?" Jimmy sarcastically quipped.

Miroku slugged Jimmy's arm. "Say that again and It'll be two for flinching."

Stony looked down at his watch. "Uh, guys, don't you think we should get started on practicing our instruments before it gets too late. I have work at 2, pizza ain't gonna deliver itself y'know.

Jimmy sighed as he picked up his guitar, "Alright, we can rip on Miroku later I suppose."

The guys spent the next hour or so practicing the song list they were planning on using when they scored their gig at Meridian. Everything was going smoothly aside from the fact that Andrew was a little late on some of his bass notes. Soon it became thirty minutes til two so Stony had to call it quits. The three other members of Gladius waved goodbye to their drummer as he drove off in his dorky pizza delivery car. Jimmy had left the garage door open so they could have a view of the street while they chilled in the garage some more. Jimmy popped in one of his longer mix tapes into the stereo on the wall. He tossed a cue stick over towards Miroku. He caught the cue stick in his hand.

"Stripes or solids?" Jimmy asked, racking up the balls on the table.

Miroku chalked up the tip of his cue stick "Solids."

The two of them were barely fifteen minutes into their game of eight ball when Miroku's little sister came running into the garage.

"Mom says she wants you to come home. She wants you to babysit me while she runs errands."

Miroku was still too focused on his game to really pay her any attention. "Why aren't you in school Rin, I thought they didn't let out until 3:30?"

"I'm sick, I got a stomach virus."

Miroku looked at his little sister, she seemed perfectly healthy to him. "Faker. Besides, isn't Inuyasha home? Just have him watch you."

Rin stomped her foot on the ground. "I don't like him, he's weird, mean, and he eats all the snacks. Just come home Onii-chan." She stood patiently with her arms crossed, brows furrowed as she watched her brother waste even more time.

Miroku looked over at his little sister. "You're not going to leave are you?"

She shook her head. "Not until you come home."

Miroku let out a heavy sigh as he handed Rin his car keys. "Fine, just go wait in the car. I'll be out soon."

Miroku shook Andrew awake from his nap on the couch. "Andy, finish my game for me will ya."

Andrew nodded, taking the cue stick from Miroku's hand.

"I guess I'll see you later man." Jimmy said as he slapped five with Miroku in a gesture of camaraderie.

"Hold your horses, Rin. I'm coming out!" Miroku yelled, interrupted by Rin honking the horn. He waved goodbye to the guys before exiting the garage. Jimmy closed the garage door when Miroku made it inside of his car.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Sango walked her ten speed bike to the porch of Miroku's house. Last night, she had a short but pleasant conversation with Miroku asking about the demo tape he promised her. He said it would be perfectly fine for her to drop by his house after school. It was a pure stroke of luck that his home was a mere three blocks away from hers, so she didn't have to ask her dad to drive her anywhere. Funny, she must have passed down Sieber Rd. a zillion times on her bike route but she never knew who lived in the seafoam green two-story house towering before her. She sat her bike against the white wooden cross-hatch fence of his front porch, careful not to crush the yellow roses in the flowerbed next to it.

At times like these Sango wished she had a car of her own instead of a stupid bike. She had her license already and she knew how to drive fairly well but her father said he wasn't setting foot at a car dealership with her until she graduated high school. Sango understood his reason for making her wait for her ride, he wanted that milestone to be extra special for her. She walked up the front steps to the door. Lifting the bronze knocker on the door, she knocked a couple of times, patiently waiting for someone inside to answer. She rolled her shoulders back, feeling a little nervous about entering Miroku's house. He mentioned to her in a previous conversation that his family was very traditional, as in shoes off in house; bow to your elders traditional. Sango hadn't used respectful honorifics in years as her heavily Americanized family mostly spoke English in her home. Lucky for her, she never really forgot how to speak Japanese. Her parents made sure that she and Kohaku didn't forget their native tongue, mostly because when her mother's relatives would come to visit from Tokyo around the holidays, they spoke really broken English or didn't speak English at all. Not to mention being bilingual looked really good on her college applications. Sango nervously wrung her hands as she heard the door knob turn. "well, here goes nothing."

A preteen girl with layered black hair styled in a side ponytail answered the door. Sango realized that this girl must've been Miroku's little sister, Rin. The preteen certainly looked like she would be his sister as they both had the same complexion and nose shape, albeit hers a little smaller. Rin's eyes were different though, instead of a steely deep blue like Miroku's eyes, Rin's were a bright brown, similar to Sango's own eye color. The girl wore what looked like denim shorts and a baggy off the shoulder orange and white striped shirt with a black tank top underneath. Rin was barefoot as it was to be expected of her to be inside the house.

"Can I help you?" the girl asked.

Sango cleared her throat, "Um, hi. I'm Sango, I'm a friend of Miroku's. Is he home right now?"

Rin looked down at her freshly painted nails, "Onii-chan is here but he's upstairs taking a shower, you're welcome to come inside and wait for him if you'd like."

Sango nodded in appreciation. "Thank you, that would be just fine."

The preteen gave Sango a toothy smile, pulling her into the house. "Great! I'm Miroku's sister, Rin, by the way."

"Well Rin, it's very nice to meet you. Your brother has told me so much about you."

The preteen let go of Sango's hand. "You're welcome to make yourself at home on the couch."

Sango removed her shoes, placing them by the front door next to Rin's sandals.

Rin took a spot next to Sango on the couch. Sango noticed that the preteen was eyeing her up and down. She crossed her legs, smoothing out the wrinkles in her school uniform skirt as she placed her hands elegantly in her lap. Sango looked around Miroku's living room. It definitely had a much different aesthetic from her own home. The way this house was decorated was a little too organized, almost like a professional interior designer lived there. From the faux flowers in antique vases to the artwork on the walls, everything matched perfectly.

"So, Sango do you go to a private school or something?" Rin asked, pointing to the school uniform Sango was wearing

"Yes, I'm actually a senior at St. Catherine's, why do you ask?"

Rin shrugged. "No reason, you just don't look like a slut."

"Excuse me?" Sango shot a glare at the preteen.

"I mean you're not the type of girl my dum-dum brother usually brings home."

Sango wasn't sure what the young girl meant by that statement but she was nonetheless intrigued. "Oh, and how so?"

Rin gave Sango a puzzled look, could this Sango girl not know that her brother goes through girls like a goldfish goes through fish flakes?

"Well number one, you aren't dressed like some floozy with bad makeup, and number two you probably don't know that he goes through girls very fast. Like, they will be here one day and then he will never bring them over again. I don't know if he's actually dating these girls or what. But as soon as one leaves, more take their place. Everywhere we go there is always some girl that knows him."

"I see." Sango gripped the ends of her skirt, realizing that Miranda and Amy were right about Miroku being a complete lech. He did seem a little overconfident when she first met him. Now it all made sense with the constant staring and the flirting he did with her. Oh God what if they were right, what if he did lure her to his home under false pretenses to try to get in her pants. As if she would ever let him touch her like that, it's not like they were even dating or anything in the first place.

"Yeah, he always has lots of girls calling the house too. It got so bad that our parents had to install an extra phone line just for him in his room. I've spied on his phone calls a couple of times, for a guy with a lot of girlfriends he seems to like phone sex a little too much."

If Sango had something to drink, she would have spat it out upon hearing Rin's remark about phone sex. Rin was way too young to know about that kind of thing. Then again kids these days weren't really all that innocent in the first place. One time she caught Kohaku not-so-stealthily trying to hide a copy of 'Barely Legal' between a stack of comic books. He was probably around eleven at the time of the incident. She shuddered to think how many more porno mags her little brother had hidden within the confines of his room now that he was a teenager.

"I do have to admit you are really pretty, no wonder my brother gets really antsy when he's on the phone with you. It's like he's nervous or something. There's none of his usual cheesy pick up lines or anything, just him pacing around his room fidgeting with the phone cord in his hand."

Sango tried to contain a giggle, Rin's plan to out her brother to one of his potential crushes was downright devious. She did have to admit, it was fun hearing the preteen gossip about Miroku.

Sango shot the preteen a devious smirk of her own. "Why are you telling me all this? Did he eat the last ice cream cone or did he hog all of the TV privileges?"

Rin looked positively flabbergasted at Sango's astute observation. "He did eat the last ice cream cone! How did you know?"

"I have a brother of my own so I kind of know these things."

Rin looked down at the floor, embarrassed at the fact that Sango wasn't as gullible as the other girls her pervert of a brother brought home.

**"RIN, WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO WITH MY AFTERSHAVE YOU LITTLE TWERP?!"**

Miroku yelled as he rushed down the stairs. Sango noticed right off the bat that he was shirtless, wearing only his jeans and a towel slung over his shoulders. His hair was still damp, although he already pulled it into a pony-holder. She tried not to gawk at his shirtless form but it proved much too difficult of a task. Miroku was a total hunk. Something about seeing him in that state of dress had her really hot and bothered. His arms and defined abs were nice and all but she especially liked his chest. Sango soon found herself fantasizing about how nice it would feel to reach out and touch it. She scolded herself, Bad Sango! Why was she even thinking about him like that? This was no time to be eating whatever _eye candy_ he had to offer.

Miroku tried to focus his attention off of Sango's aforementioned Care-Bear stare. Ever since he came down the stairs, her eyes had not left his body. It was obvious that she wanted him. She wanted him bad. There was one problem though; would she be able to admit it? Based on what he knew about Sango, she was the type of girl that would deny everything to save face. Not that it fazed him, he actually found her sheepishness to admit her attraction to him quite endearing; Not to mention, cute as hell."

Miroku grinned, slicking back his bangs. "Like what you see, Miss Sato?"

Sango's blush darkened, she quickly moved her eyes to the floor. "I-I wasn't looking at that...If this is a bad time...I could..."

Miroku stopped her trail of thought. "No, no. It's not a bad time at all. I apologize for my lack of attire. I just got out of the shower and..."

Rin interrupted him. "Don't lie, Onii-chan. You just wanted an excuse to show off in front of her."

Miroku gave his kid sister a really hard but affectionate noogie. "Such a precocious little girl you are, Rinny-Poo."

"Ow that hurt you dick!" Rin squealed, removing her brother's knuckle from her head.

Miroku leaned over his sister on the couch and whispered in her ear. "Look Rin. I don't ask you for much but I'm begging you. Don't screw this up for me."

"What's in it for me?" She asked with a sly grin.

"I'll take you to to the park on Sunday to get a sno-cone, how does that sound?"

Rin shook his hand. "Deal."

Miroku turned his attention on Sango, who was now standing up beside the couch, lost in her own little world obviously trying to avoid looking at him. "Follow me upstairs, Sango, so I can give you the demo tape you requested."

Sango snapped back into reality. "Right! the demo tape, of course!"

Sango followed Miroku upstairs, her eyes planted firmly on his equally muscular back. A little further down the hall Miroku stopped at his bedroom door. On his door hung a yellow diamond shaped sign that said "Keep Out." Next to the sign was a small poster of a scantily-clad zombie woman holding a machine gun between her thighs. Miroku turned the doorknob, opening the door to his bedroom. He turned around to face Sango.

"Well this is it, Casa de Miroku. watch your step coming in, the floorboard kind of sticks up. Wouldn't want you to..."

His warning fell on deaf ears as Sango tripped on the wonky floorboard, knocking both of them to the floor in the process. The fall caused Sango to land in a rather perverted spot when her breasts ended up smothering Miroku's face upon impact. Miroku absolutely reveled in the sensation of her soft breasts smashed against his face but his favorite part of her body remained sadly, neglected. In an instant he brushed his naughty hand up against Sango's rear. Part of her skirt had shifted in the fall so he was pretty much feeling the outline of her cotton panties. He gave her ass cheek a soft squeeze.

Sango's heart thumped wildly in her chest. What had just happened? One second she was about to cross the threshold into Miroku's room. The next second she wound up lying on top of him. It was already bad enough that he was shirtless to begin with, now she could actually feel the heat radiate off of his body. Despite the awkwardness of the situation Sango found the warmth of his body to be quite pleasant. She shook her head. No! She had to get off of him like, now. Just as she was about to scramble to her feet, she felt something equally warm rub her butt. She soon realized that Miroku was taking advantage of the awkward situation by feeling her up yet again. Sango clenched her hand into a fist. "That pervert!" She would have to get back at him later for that, right now all that mattered was getting off of him and fast.

"Miroku, Would you mind removing your hand from my butt?"

Miroku jerked his hand away from Sango's ass. "Sorry about that, I guess my hand slipped in the fall or something."

Sango rolled her eyes. "Right, pervert. Just keep your hands to yourself."

Sango rose to her feet, adjusting the parts of her uniform that got messed up during the fall. She stepped into Miroku's bedroom. It was a typical guy's room with dirty clothes piled up haphazardly in the corner, a TV, a weight bench, posters of swimsuit models, and of course a marijuana plant sitting under UV lights in the closet. Miroku had a little more of a macabre flair to his decorating than the average guy with all of the mini skulls, black lights, and heavy metal artwork on his walls. But all in all his room was definitely the domain of a dude. The last thing Sango noticed in Miroku's room was his guitar and amp perched against the wall next to his stereo, which was currently doing double-duty as a makeshift side table.

Once Miroku was off of the floor, he wasted no time to find a clean shirt to wear out of his dresser. This time instead of one of his usual black band-shirts he chose a fairly plain indigo colored t-shirt from his bottom drawer.

"You can take a seat on the bed if you'd like. I apologize for the lack of places to sit in my room. It's usually only just me in here."

"Oh, okay." Sango sat down at the foot of his waterbed, trying not to fall over. She wondered how in the hell he could sleep on something so unstable?

"Here it is!" Miroku handed over the copy of the demo tape he promised her.

Sango studied the tape in her hand, it was an exact copy of the master tape, the only difference being that this copy had a small heart on it drawn in permanent marker next to the band's name. How typical, even on something so mundane as a cassette tape he had to flirt with her.

Miroku sat down next to her on the bed. "Y'know I think you are the first girl I've ever burned a copy of that tape for. It's really rad that you are actually interested in my music, most girls who find out I'm in a band tend to cling on me just so they can get into free shows. Not you though."

Sango tucked a tendril of her hair behind her ear, the sincerity of his observation was eating at her. It became clear that she wanted to get closer to him but deep-down she knew she couldn't go through with it. In less than two weeks school would be over. Her college acceptance letters were already pouring in through the mailbox. The hopeful possibility of getting accepted into her dream school loomed on the horizon. If she got accepted in, there was no way she could possibly keep up a long distance relationship with Miroku without the fear of ending up completely heartbroken once she left him behind. She'd only known Miroku since the middle of April and it was now May and her crush on him only became stronger during that time. What would she say if he did ask her to be his girlfriend? More importantly, how would she be able to ask him to prom without him thinking that it meant that she wanted to go steady? For Sango, she already knew the answer was not one that would be easy to work around.

"Is everything alright Sango? You look spaced out." Miroku asked, concerned about his friend's sudden silence.

"I-it's nothing. Thanks for the tape. I really appreciate it."

Miroku smiled. "Glad you like it."

Sango noticed the spiral edge of a plain black sketchbook lying next to her thigh. She picked up the sketchbook, tracing the rough cover with her fingers. "Hey Miroku, what's this?"

"Oh, that's just my sketchbook of band logos and doodles. Just something I do in my spare time. Feel free to flip through it if you'd like."

Sango flipped through the pages of the sketchbook, pleasantly surprised that Miroku was actually a really good artist. His pen work was amazing, each one of the little details in the strokes were crisp and defined.

"These are really good Miroku, how come you're not in art school? With your talent you could already have a fantastic portfolio for advertising." Sango asked, setting the sketchbook back in it's original spot.

"I thought about it after I graduated but I realized, college isn't really for me. Art school seems nice but It's also terribly expensive. I'd rather just focus on my music."

"So, what do you do for a living? You must have a job or something, all this music merchandise and equipment probably isn't very cheap."

Miroku laughed. "No, it isn't cheap. Not in the slightest. That amp over there probably cost a little under five hundred and the guitar I bought with it was even more expensive considering that it's a limited edition model. Hell, my first guitar was about the same price as the amp. As for a job it's simple, I make my money by being a psychic reader, fortune telling, that sort of thing."

Sango raised an eyebrow at his job description. "So basically, you're a con artist."

Miroku scowled at her. "I'm offended you would think that, Sango. The psychic arts are indeed real and if someone inexperienced tampers with the unknown, it can cause serious consequences."

Miroku's face softened into one of his usual peaceful grins, He couldn't stay mad at Sango but he could show her that his craft wasn't just smoke and mirrors either. Even though part of him refused to admit it, Miroku had always considered himself somewhat of a spiritualist. Maybe being raised as a Buddhist since childhood had something to do with it. Perhaps he might have been a priest of sorts in a past life. Whatever the case, he truly enjoyed what he did. Years ago, Miroku found the art of psychic reading on a whim while trying to hook up with this one super cute new-age chick at the library. He never ended up scoring with the hot hippie but she did leave a long list of books and shops that he should check out. Once Miroku found out he had a real knack for divination, prophecy, and the like; he chose to do readings for profit instead of working a greasy McJob like Stony or Andy.

"How about this, to prove I'm not a phony. I'm going to give you a reading right now. Take a seat on the floor, Sango."

Sango shrugged her shoulders. "Whatever you say, Zoltar."

Miroku reached under his bed, grabbing a black suede drawstring pouch with a silver Om stitched on it. Inside of the pouch resided a deck of tarot cards and a couple of assorted power crystals. He shuffled the deck of cards around in his hand.

"Alright, so what do you want to know? Your reading could be about pretty much anything so feel free to take your time."

"I don't know, surprise me I guess."

Miroku rolled his head back, finishing up his shuffling of the cards. "Alright Sango, close your eyes and take three cards from the ones in my hand. Just three. When you are done, you can open your eyes and hand the cards back to me but don't look at them."

Sango nodded. Closing her eyes, she took three of the cards.

"Okay Sango, you can open your eyes now."

When Sango opened her eyes she saw that Miroku had horizontally lined all three of the cards face down.

Miroku flipped the first card over. The card showed what looked like to be a woman and a man toasting two glasses. "Ah, the two of cups. This one signifies a partnership of sorts, possibly hinting at a new relationship."

He moved on to the second card. This card showed a hand with a chalice that had five streams of water flowing from it, there was a bird hovering above the chalice with a wafer in it's mouth. "This is the ace of cups, this card signifies love, happiness, creativity and compassion. Positive energy and emotion will come your way, A new romance could be on the horizon."

Miroku was down to his last card. His heart skipped a beat when he realized what card it was. "This one is called "The Lovers" this card indicates an incredibly strong romantic bond formed between two people. Both the desire and the attraction of an individual dictated by this card suggests a very strong sexual connection that goes further beyond mere lust and instant gratification. Some would interpret this as finding your soul mate."

His eyes locked on hers. "When taking the two other cards into consideration; this reading is as clear as day. Sango; you are in love, true love."

The intense way Miroku gazed at her felt like it was enough to make her heart melt into her ribcage. Sure, she had a crush on him but could she truly be _In love_ with him? Sango never even had a real boyfriend before for Christ's sake. Then again, no other guy had ever made her melt into a pool of mush like Miroku either. What was with her today, first it was his hunky body that got her all flustered and now this psychic 'reading'. The butterfly feeling in the pit of Sango's stomach increased as she felt the all too familiar sensation of blood trickling down her upper lip.

Miroku cupped her cheek with his gloved hand. "Sango, You're bleeding. Let me go get something for you to wipe that off."

Miroku locked himself in the bathroom. He raised his fist in the air letting out a very loud "YES!" He knew Sango was into him! The cards had not failed him this time, there was no mistaking her reaction. He was the one that the cards predicted she had fallen for. He yanked one of the washcloths out of the cabinet, soaking it with running water from the faucet. As he wrung out the washcloth, Miroku looked at his reflection in the mirror. With a determined look on his face Miroku decided it was now or never, he was going to make Sango his girlfriend. That was a promise!

* * *

****80's Slang/General Glossary ****

**Zoltar – **aka "Zoltar Speaks": A vintage coin-operated fortune telling machine.

* * *

**80's Mix Tape: Track 7 **

Whitesnake – Bad Boys


	8. Questions and Answers

**Chapter 8 – Questions and Answers**

Miroku made his way back to the room with the washcloth clutched in his hand. Sango hadn't left yet as she was sitting in the same spot in the middle of his bedroom. From the looks of it, she did him a solid by picking his cards and crystals off of the floor, returning them into their designated pouch.

Miroku handed her the washcloth. "Here."

Sango wiped the now dried blood off of her face. "Is it gone?"

"Almost, you left a little spot right above your lip."

Miroku moved in closer to her face, the damp cloth ready in his hand. Sango closed her eyes, expecting to feel the damp cloth on her skin. Instead of readying the cloth for contact, he moved his face closer to hers, his lips hovered just mere centimeters from her mouth. Just when he was about to kiss her, he was interrupted by a knock at the door. Miroku sighed internally, '_well that moment is ruined.' _

Miroku answered the door, his mother stood in the doorway with a huge brown bag of groceries clasped in her hand.

"Go, help Rin and Inuyasha put up groceries, I have ice cream that needs to go in the freezer." she barked in a haughty tone.

"Son, who's your friend? I don't think I've met her before." Miroku's mom asked, taking notice of the pretty girl sitting in the middle of his bedroom.

Miroku introduced Sango to his mother. "Mom, this is Sango Sato, she's a volunteer counselor I met while at Silent Pines. Sango, this is my mother, Chieko."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Hoshima-san." Sango said as she greeted Miroku's mother in a respectful bow.

"It's nice to meet you too Sango-chan, would you like to stay for dinner? That is after my children get done with the groceries."

"Dinner would be lovely, and if you wouldn't mind I can help put up the groceries."

"That's very kind of you to offer Sango-chan, but I think my children can manage the task just fine on their own."

With saying that last bit, Chieko left the room, not before handing her son the heavy sack of vegetables.

"You sure it's okay with your dad if you can stay for dinner?" Miroku asked.

"Dad's at the station until late so by the time I get home, it'll still only be Kohaku and I. But I should give Kohaku a call just to make sure that he's okay by himself until then."

"Excellent! you'll really like my mother's cooking. If I'm not mistaken she's making steak tips and vegetables tonight for dinner. The phone is on the wall if you need to call your brother. I'll be back upstairs in a couple of minutes, okay."

Sango sat back down on the floor. "No problem."

Nervously, she grabbed her backpack, taking out the envelope that held her prom tickets in it. She then removed both tickets from the envelope as she rehearsed the best way to ask Miroku to be her date. "Miroku. I was wondering if you'd go to prom with me." she shook her head, no that approach was too blunt. "Miroku, if you're not busy Saturday night at 7pm, would you like to accompany me to prom." She shook her head again. That response was too formal. "Yo, Miroku! I got a prom ticket with your name on it, homie." Sango covered her face with her hands, letting out a frustrated groan. This was getting her nowhere. She then heard Miroku's footsteps getting closer to the room. Panicking, she shoved the tickets into her backpack.

"Are you okay, Sango?" Miroku asked; Concerned because he could have sworn he heard her calling his name.

Sango got off the floor. "I'm fine." She lied. "Let's go eat!"

* * *

At the dinner table Sango realized it had been quite sometime since she had a decent home-cooked meal like the one Miroku's mother had prepared for that evening. His mom was obviously a fantastic cook as every morsel on Sango's plate was seasoned to perfection. Usually when Sango herself tried to cook a lot of food at once, she would panic and screw up the recipe in some minor way, her guests would never know that she probably added too much salt or she overcooked the rice just a small bit but Sango would know. It was different when she cooked for her dad and Kohaku, those two had iron stomachs and would eat anything she cooked with no complaints whatsoever. Hell, they'd probably eat dirt if someone sprinkled sugar on it.

Miroku's mom carefully set her chopsticks down next to her plate. "So, Sango-chan my son tells me you are still in high school, correct?"

Sango nodded. "Yes ma'am as a matter of fact I'm about to graduate next week"

Miroku butted into the conversation. "Actually mom, Sango is valedictorian of her senior class at St. Catherine's."

Miroku's mom took the bait: hook, line, and sinker. Her eyes widened with surprise at her son's statement. She had to know if it was true. Not that she didn't trust the pretty girl sitting across from her but her son had a tendency to lie whenever it was convenient, much to her chagrin.

"Is this true Sango-chan are you really top of your class?"

Sango smiled, trying not to panic that Miroku had pretty much given a mental cue to his mom to quiz her. Small talk was definitely not one of her strong subjects, especially not when being watched by four pairs of eyes like she was some kind of museum exhibit.

"Yes, it's true. I plan on going to college in the fall, I've already received acceptance letters from most of my top choices."

The word 'college' piqued Miroku's dad's interest. "Oh, and what school are you going to choose?"

"Well, I've already been accepted at UCLA and UCSD but I really want to get into Brantham, I haven't received a response from them yet but I have my fingers crossed that I'll get in."

"Isn't Brantham just a step below Harvard or Yale? Schools like that are pretty cutthroat to get into are they not? What do you plan on majoring in if you are accepted?"

Sango pushed her vegetables aside with her chopsticks, nervously trying to keep eye contact with Miroku's dad.

"I plan on majoring in criminal justice; then afterwards law school. Brantham has one of the best law schools in the country."

Miroku's dad clasped his hands. "Ah, so you want to be a lawyer?"

Sango nodded. "Yes, It's something I've wanted to do since I was a little girl."

He smiled. "Well, Sango-chan, I wish you the best of luck on your future endeavors."

"Thank you, sir."

Just when Sango thought she was free from her pseudo-interview with Miroku's parents they threw a couple of more questions her way, this time his parents asked about her family life.

"So, what do your parents do for a living?" Chieko asked.

"Well, dad is a precinct constable for Portillo Beach PD. and my mother unfortunately passed on about six years ago."

Chieko gasped. "You poor girl, It must be hard on you and your family to not have a mother around."

"Actually, it's not so bad. My dad does his best when he's off the clock. It's probably not easy raising two kids alone but somehow he manages to do so just fine."

Sango glanced at the opposite end of the table where Rin and Inuyasha were fighting over the last square of Chieko's homemade tiramisu. "So, Inuyasha. How are you adjusting to life in the US?" she asked.

Inuyasha shoved the small cake into his mouth. "Alright, I guess. Still need a job so I can afford to build a decent bike."

"What about school?"

"Fuck no. In case you haven't noticed, Sango. I'm not the scholarly type."

"He just won't admit that he got expelled from the high school within the first week because he beat up a teacher." Rin interjected.

"The old fuck started it." Inuyasha grumbled.

Miroku rose from his chair to put his dirty utensils in the sink. "Yeah, but did you have to injure him to the point where they had to call an ambulance? You're lucky you didn't get deported."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Yeah, lucky. Wasn't like I wanted to go back to Tokyo anyways."

* * *

After dinner was over with, Sango offered to help Chieko clean up. Miroku's mom declined her offer yet again so she figured it was time to head back home before it got too dark outside. Miroku decided It was for the best that he would walk her home. Although their neighborhood was fairly safe, Sango was still a teenage girl heading home alone at night. Sango walked beside him with her bike at her side. Miroku didn't really make much eye contact with her on the walk home as he was busy mentally rehearsing how he was going to ask her out before she walked through her front door. Once he got to her house, he stopped in his tracks. Usually he had no problem asking girls out, A few sweet words here and there and the chick would end up naked under him and gone the next morning. But Sango was different, something about her made him fairly nervous. Maybe it was the fact that he actually had a legit crush on her. He'd known he wanted her since their first encounter in the window. It had been ages since the rocker had felt this way about a girl, in fact he couldn't even remember the last time he looked at a chick as something more than a quick screw. Somehow his feelings for Sango seemed so pure, regardless of his intention to eventually claim her virginity, that he often found himself dumbfounded on how to respond to them.

"Sango, I apologize about my parents at dinner, I had no idea that they would ask so many questions."

Sango glanced over at him. "You don't need to apologize, dinner was fine."

"But you looked so nervous answering their questions, I was worried."

Sango's grip tightened on her bike's handlebars. "Small talk is really not my forte."

"You talked to me just fine that day I gave you a ride home from school."

Sango smiled, a faint blush stained her cheeks. "Somehow, I wasn't nervous when it was just us. I can't explain why but I feel so relaxed around you."

Miroku nervously clenched his fists at his side, this was it. He was going to ask the big question.

"Sango, there's something I need to ask..."

Just as he was about to say it, he noticed Sango dig in the mailbox on the front porch. Her eyes widened when she pulled out a fancy looking red envelope, with a gold wax seal containing Brantham University's crest. Sango ripped the envelope open. Her heart panicked in anticipation as she opened the contents of the letter inside. When she finished reading the letter everything around her went silent.

"What's that?" Miroku asked her.

Sango sank to her knees. "I got in..."

"Huh?"

Sango scrambled back on her feet. **"I GOT IN!"**

She grabbed Miroku by the shoulders, her smile stretched from ear to ear. "Miroku I got in! I'm going to Brantham!"

Sango embraced Miroku in a hug, looking like she was almost about to cry. "I'm so happy I could faint."

Miroku returned her embrace, he could smell the faint scent of strawberries as her long ponytail brushed against his face.

"Congratulations, Sango."

Sango stepped away from him, wiping tears from her eyes.

"I'm sorry if I'm blubbering like an idiot. I'm just so happy that I got accepted. Now I know that all of my hard work didn't go to waste."

"Now what was it you wanted to ask?"

Miroku gulped. _Shit! She's putting me on the spot. I can't ask her out now. Gotta make something up quick. _

"I wanted to ask if you see any feathers in my hair, Rin slugged me with a pillow before dinner as payback for eating her Mike and Ikes last night."

Sango brushed his bangs aside. "I don't see any."

Miroku scratched the back of his head. "Thanks. Well, I guess I'm off. Once again congrats on getting into your dream school."

Sango opened her front door. "Thanks for dinner and walking me home Miroku, I'll see you again soon?"

Miroku smiled a toothy grin. "Of course."

After he said his goodbyes, Miroku's head hung low in defeat. How could he have been so short-sighted to not realize that once Sango went off to college that would be the end of any romantic relationship? There was no way she would go out with him now, she would be attending college in another city more than six hours away. He couldn't have her just for the Summer either because he would only want more. It wasn't enough for him that Sango was "just a friend". Fuck that platonic shit, he wanted Sango to be his girl. For once in his life he wanted to do the noble thing and date Sango before even making an attempt to bed her. Miroku punched a broken light post with his gloved hand out of defeat. Why was this eating at him so much, he should've been happy that she got into the school that she worked so hard to get into right? He shook his head. clearly, he wasn't thinking straight. Sango should have nothing but his utmost support on her endeavor, especially after all the rough shit that happened to her. As much as Miroku wanted her, Sango was first and foremost his friend and he had to respect that. While he continued to lament on his botched attempt to ask Sango out, the squirmy feeling in the pit of his stomach only intensified.

* * *

Ecstatic, Sango threw her backpack on her bed but it ricocheted onto the floor. She plopped down on the bed, trying her hardest not to squeal loud enough to disturb Kohaku from his homework as she held the acceptance letter from Brantham against her chest. It wasn't until she regained her composure that she noticed the contents of her backpack had fallen out. Sango crawled onto the floor to pick up her belongings. As she put the things back into the backpack, she noticed she only had one prom ticket. Frantically, she dumped the contents of the backpack on the floor again, searching for the missing ticket. Her eyes widened when she screamed a loud, "NO, NO, NO!" Sango crawled onto the bed again. How was she ever going to ask Miroku to the prom now? Her other ticket must have fallen out her open backpack on the walk home somewhere because she was absolutely positive she put both tickets in her backpack before dinner. Sango huffed, sitting up on her bed. It looked like she would have to go to prom solo after all. Which meant that she didn't have a buffer to distract her from Miranda and her constant prying into her love-life.

"I'm so not ready for this." She groaned.

* * *

At home, Miroku's parents waited for him on the couch with wide smiles beamed across their faces. His parents rarely smiled like that, rendering the situation all the more creepy. His dad patted him hard on the shoulder.

"Well done, son. Well done!"

"What did I do?" Miroku asked, dumbfounded at his father's out of the blue praise. Something was up; his father never praised him. The man was practically a human-shaped criticism tank.

"Just so you know, your mother and I approve."

"Approve of what?"

Miroku's dad grinned. "Of Sango, our future daughter-in-law."

Miroku let out a defeated groan. "Dad, she's not my girlfriend, she's just a friend."

"Oh but she will be soon enough, lay that charm on her thick, but not too thick you hear me, otherwise you'll scare her off. I know you can do it! Just wait until my coworkers find out my son is going to marry a foxy lawyer!"

"Dad, I'm not going to marry anyone anytime soon."

Miroku's mom stood up from the couch.

"You better marry her, I want pretty grandchildren. That stuck-up Irma Ling is always going on and on about her grandchildren. I want to rub it in her smug face because mine will be prettier! What do you think Kyo? Do you want them to have a church wedding or a traditional wedding? Ooh, we can dress her in one of my heirloom kimonos!"

Miroku could only sigh and groan some more as his parents planned his future, they really knew how to make the situation of not being able to date Sango even worse.

"I'm going to bed!" Miroku declared in a whiny tone, dragging his feet up the stairs.

Miroku plunked face down on his bed. He was about to doze off when he was woken up by the phone going ballistic on the ringer. He answered the phone, half expecting it to be some random chick that he pumped and dumped asking why he never called back. _Great, that's all I need; _He sarcastically groaned in his head.

"Hello?"

"Hey Miroku, It's Jimmy. Just calling in to check up on you. How did your dinner date go? You going steady with your chick yet?"

Miroku sighed into his pillow. "It wasn't even a date; and no, she's off limits."

"What the hell happened man? You had this in the bag."

"College happened. She got accepted into Brantham. I can't compete with that. You and I both know that long distance relationships never work out. What if she finds someone else and forgets all about me? More importantly; if that were to happen, how would I forget about her?"

"Fuck, you really have it bad for this girl dont'cha? I still say you should just cut to the nitty gritty and ask her out already. She may be innocent now but you and I both know what happens to girls once they get into college, especially prestigious ones known for rich assholes with daddy's money and babes on each arm."

Miroku scowled at his friend's remark. "I'm aware of that, Jimmy. Why do you think I'm on edge right now."

"Sorry I got a little side tracked there, I don't want to see one of my bro's all mopey and shit, makes me depressed just listening to it. But I do have good news!"

"What's the news?" Miroku asked.

"I got a phone call from Big Frank at Meridian, we got in. The red stage is ours, another Battle of the Bands finalist dropped out, leaving us and two other bands. Our gig is scheduled for Saturday July 15th We gotta kick our practice sessions into overdrive, Word has it there will be a primo talent scout for one of the big record companies in the area. Think about it man, Gladius could finally break out of the local scene."

"That's amazing that we got in! I think I'm feeling better already."

"Hey, what are friends for right. Anyways I gotta go I have a girl waiting in the other room that's in need of some serious lovin'. Catch you later Hoshima!"

With saying that, Jimmy hung up the phone on his end. Miroku crawled back into bed. Messing around with his tarot deck, he pulled the lovers card out from the top of it. He stuck the card back into the pouch, tossing the pouch back under the bed. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted a business card looking piece of paper lying by his amp. Walking over to the amp, he picked up the card. It had a shiny silver filigree border around some matching script writing. The card read: 'St. Catherine's Catholic High School Senior Prom 1986 – Admit One.' Miroku grinned as he put two and two together. "So that's why Sango was so nervous while I was downstairs, she wanted to ask me to her prom." He stared at the ticket for a while longer. Maybe there was a chance for him after all. Sitting the ticket on his clock radio, Miroku shut his eyes, imagining himself slow dancing with Sango while she wore a sexy cocktail dress. Perhaps on prom night, he'd get to at least one base.

* * *

The following Saturday, Miroku woke up two hours early before his usual departure for Silent Pines. Taking a quick glance in the mirror, he noticed his hair looked kind of greasy. His mom apparently bought a brand of shampoo that didn't agree with his scalp so he rushed to the upstairs bathroom to shower before Rin woke up to get ready for school. After his shower Miroku took his sweet time getting dressed. Dragging his slowpoke ass down the stairs, he brewed a fresh pot of coffee. Strangely enough, his time at Silent Pines had actually grown on him over the past two weeks. Hector and Billy were chill to hang with and the sense that he was actually doing something with his time felt somewhat rewarding. Miroku's community service term wasn't over til mid June but after Silent Pines was history, he would look for a real part time job. His psychic reading stuff was doing well but each session barely lasted thirty minutes at most, leaving him bored the rest of the day. Miroku scanned the classified ads in the newspaper, circling the places he would call to see if they were still hiring. He figured he could do a graveyard shift somewhere that way he still had daylight to practice with the guys. Only one problem, would his new manager let him have weekends off? If he couldn't have weekends off then that was a definite deal breaker.

Miroku finished his pot of coffee and the frozen blueberry waffles he had in the toaster. Looking at the clock above the refrigerator, he saw that it was about time to leave so he grabbed his keys off the table and headed out towards the door.

After being stuck in morning Traffic, Miroku made it to Silent Pines with an hour to spare. Billy and Hector pulled up right beside him seconds later. It seemed like all three of the men had the same idea to finish early. Normally, Miroku would see Hector pull up in his Lowrider Stingray, but those two guys had recently started carpooling with one another in Billy's truck to save gas as they were both from the same area of San Diego. They really had to get to Silent Pines fast because traffic downtown was the pits.

Hector and Billy stepped out of Billy's Dodge truck. Once they were in the facility with keys in hand they decided to horse around before all three of them had to go on the golf green to clean the golf carts parked in the garage.

"Ay Miroku, how'd your date with Sango go? I heard that p_uto, _Rich, snapped a clipboard in half when Stacy told him that you two were going out." Hector gossiped, generously spraying glass cleaner over one of the golf-cart's window.

Miroku chuckled, elated at the thought of that arrogant pretty-boy seething with anger over having Sango over for dinner. Ever since the day Rich deliberately tripped him into falling headfirst into the mop bucket, he'd wanted to get some kind of revenge. Having found out that the douchebag wanted Sango made it all the more easier.

Billy nodded. "Yeah, he's fucking furious that you managed to one-up him. He's had a thing for her since January."

"Is that so? Who's gonna be the first to tell him that she asked me to be her prom date, then?" Miroku grinned, pulling the St. Catherine's prom ticket out from his wallet.

Billy and Hector simultaneously dropped their squeegees. Billy yanked the ticket out of Miroku's hands. "No way."

Miroku snatched the ticket back. "Hey, hands off. I'm gonna need that for tonight. I figured I'd finish my eight hours early so I can hurry and get a tux afterwards."

Hector laughed. "Going fancy huh?"

"Well, I do have a reputation to uphold. I have the feeling that once I walk into the venue, people are going to stare."

"So how far have you gotten with Sango? First base? Second base?" Billy asked.

Miroku pressed his index finger to his chin in a thinking pose as he began to lie through his teeth. "How about all around the field?" He boasted with a smug grin on his face.

Billy bowed to Miroku. "You sir, are indeed a legend."

"Shit, you some kind of Casanovas or something?" Hector chimed in.

"Something like that." Miroku chuckled, lavishing in the ego-boost from his coworkers.

Hector threw his shop towel into the soap bucket beside him. "Yo, Me and Shaggy are going to Tijuana for cheap beer and smoke after our shift is over next Friday, you wanna come too? There's an extra seat in the truck. With you and white boy over there there's no way we will get pulled over by border patrol."

"It's tempting." Miroku responded. "But I think I'm good. Last time I had Mexican booze it didn't go so well. I almost ended up in Mexican jail."

Hector shrugged his shoulders. "Ay man, it's cool but you don't know what you're missing."

The three guys finished up the golf carts, then later killed time with the caddies on break until it was time to clock out. Miroku looked out the rear view mirror of his car as he left the facility. A few more weekends and he would be done with Silent Pines forever. At least he got Billy and Hector's numbers for future adventures. It's funny how something as mundane as a mandatory community service stint grew on him. He was really gonna miss that place when it was all said and done. But for now, he had a date with a tuxedo.

* * *

"Ok, Sango. You're all set!" Riley exclaimed, zipping up the back of Sango's prom dress. The two girls spent the last three hours at Sango's house getting ready, with Sango's waist-length hair taking forever to curl and put up into a side-ponytail, secured with a large hairbow of the same color. Sango looked at herself in the mirror. Her makeup was a little bolder than usual, on account that she had on foundation and blush, but either way she felt cute in the burgundy, chiffon, off-shoulder dress. She wore a knee-length black petticoat underneath the dress to maintain it's A-line flare. A pair of pointy black kitten heels completed her outfit. As cute as she looked, she still felt like she didn't belong at the prom, at least not without a date. Riley and Amy assured her that they'd hang out with her the entire night despite the fact that they both had dates of their own. Most of the girls who attended St. Catherine's ended up taking students from St. Barnabas; An all boy's catholic high school just a few miles away. For as long as the seperate schools existed, they always held a co-ed prom between the two schools and it was usually held somewhere that matched the theme. This year's theme was 'Under the Sea' and the event would be held at an aquarium in downtown San Diego. Sango returned to the mirror, adjusting the bodice of her dress to where it stayed put. Annoyed at the fact that the top kept riding down to the point where it exposed too much cleavage for her liking, she secured the bodice with two strips of double-sided tape in hopes that it would stay put throughout the night._ 'Maybe I should have sized up?' _She thought to herself.

"Feeling nervous, Sango?" Riley asked, pulling the black lace sleeves of her vintage, vamp inspired dress over her shoulders.

Sango nodded. "Yeah, a little bit. I'm really not looking forward to Miranda's comments about how Miroku stood me up. Even though you and I know that I lost the other ticket before I could ask him out."

"Honestly Sango, why do you care so much about what Miranda thinks? Amy and I are your friends too and we'd never throw you under the bus like that."

"Yeah, but Miranda runs the gossip that goes through our school, and it spreads to the surrounding schools too."

"Yeah, you do have a point."

"Besides, like I said before, I'm not even dating him anyways. Sango smiled as she grabbed her evening clutch. "Let's have fun."

Anxious, Sango glanced at the clock radio on her side-table. She wished Amy and her date would hurry up so _she_ could hurry up and get the event over with. Sango exhaled, shrugging her shoulders. At least she would get to ride in a limo for the first time. She joined Riley along with Kohaku, who had his eyes glued to a virtual baseball video game, and could care less about his sister and her friend about to go out. The teen blushed when Riley gave him one of her usual smothering boobs-in-face hugs. For some reason, Riley found Kohaku absolutely adorable and every time she visited, she always cooed over him, despite the fact that he wasn't a tiny ten year old anymore and recently hit a growth spurt that made him taller than her. Normally, such a scenario would be ideal for a hormone-addled teenage boy, but because Sango often teased him about getting potentially suffocated by her friend's affectionate gestures, the entire ordeal usually ended in embarrassment for poor Kohaku.

Sango looked over her shoulder at Riley clinging onto her little brother. She giggled when she saw that his face was still red as a tomato. "Hey, Riley. Try to ease up on my brother, okay?"

Sango stared out the window, still keeping an eye out for Amy and the limo. She wished her dad was around to see her off, he would've loved to snap some pictures for his scrapbook. Ever since she and Kohaku were born, their mother was obsessed with photographing and scrapbooking every milestone of her family's lives. Dan took up scrapbooking himself after Sayuri passed on. Albeit, he was a little bit on the obsessive side; precisely why he instructed Kohaku to take pics on the polaroid before the girls left. Sango posed with Riley in their formal attire as Kohaku snapped away pics. When Kohaku snapped away the last pic, Amy and her date pulled up in the limo. Before the polaroid could even develop, Sango headed off to the prom.

"Have fun out there, sis!" Kohaku yelled from the front door as the limo rode off.

* * *

Twenty minutes after Sango left with her friends, Miroku pulled into the driveway of Sango's house dressed to the nines in a black rental tuxedo. In his hand he held a corsage. He would've arrived to Sango's place a lot sooner but the line outside of the menswear store was insane. And to make matters worse, it took even more time for the employee to locate a tux in his size last minute, as the ones on the showroom floor were completely wiped out. Carefully, he knocked on the door, expecting Sango to answer. Instead, he got Kohaku who had just made a pan of jiffy pop on the stove. The teen's hands slipped, slick from the butter in the popcorn. As he turned the doorknob, Miroku could hear the sound of a woman shrieking and a chainsaw coming from the TV. Kohaku stood in the doorway as his mouth crunched on popcorn.

"Oh, hey Miroku. If you're looking for my sister she already left."

"Crap, I'm too late then." Miroku groaned. "Do you know where she went?"

Kohaku looked at the young man, puzzled. "Prom of course. Isn't that why you're dressed up?"

"I know _that _Kohaku, but can you tell me where her prom is?"

Kohaku put his thumb and index finger under his chin, thinking back to what Sango said earlier that night. "She mentioned something about an aquarium in the city. Though, you better hurry because she left a while ago."

"Thanks, Kohaku." Miroku said, as he bolted for his car in the driveway.

"Don't mention...it." Kohaku trailed off, watching Miroku zoom out of the driveway. Shrugging his shoulders, he went back to his popcorn and slasher film.

* * *

Sango sat alone by the stingray tanks as the prom went on in the other room of the aquarium. She was right, the night had been a total bust and she'd only been there for an hour at the most. Thankfully, Miranda and her date were fashionably late and didn't care to see her leave for the next room over. She didn't blame Riley and Amy for wanting to enjoy the party. After all they had dates and she didn't, so it was only fair. Sure, she could have danced with a single boy from St. Barnabas but she felt that it was best if she just left the party altogether, at least until the limo came back. Sango peered into the stingray tank again, at least the schools picked an interesting venue. She twisted her party favor; a champagne glass filled with a transparent aqua jelly candle with plastic fish suspended in it, in her hands. She sat the glass down when Riley came into the stingray exhibit.

"Hey, they're about to announce prom queen and king. You better hurry if you want a good spot." She said.

Sango shrugged her shoulders. "All right, I'll go back in."

"Hey don't be so glum, this is our last big party after all." Riley chirped, nudging Sango in the arm.

The two girls stood in front of the stage as the Mother Superior and Father Marley made the announcement. Sango let out a huge sigh of relief when it was revealed that Miranda was crowned as queen and not her. As for the king, that title went to St. Barnabas' football team quarterback, Robbie Fisher. Sango watched as the two shared the spotlight dance while Miranda's on-again-off-again boyfriend and rival QB from Buchanan High, Steve Spencer, shot Robbie death-glares as he danced with Miranda. After clapping for the two, Sango walked outside to catch some fresh air with Riley. They joined Riley's date and boyfriend David Wilkerson, on the steps. He was busy smoking a cigarette that he had hidden in his tuxedo. In the distance she saw a black Camaro park in one of the empty parking spaces. Somehow, she knew that car so she walked closer to the parking lot. It was then that Sango froze when she saw Miroku step out of the car. Riley and David stopped talking for a minute to see what was going on in front of them.

"Sorry I'm late, Sango." Miroku apologized. His eyes glanced up and down her body. She looked absolutely stunning in her burgundy prom dress. His fantasy didn't do her justice. Although the hem of the dress was poofy and he couldn't get a good glimpse of her lower half, save for the heels that elongated her shapely legs, the bodice of her dress was form fitting with the neckline accentuating the valley of her breasts and the roundness of her feminine shoulders. He felt like pinching himself, because if a mere dress could turn Sango from a total babe to a complete knockout, he would be in trouble come the time when she'd leave him for college. The only thing that could make her dress even sexier was if it ended up crumpled up on his bedroom floor later that night. Miroku sighed internally, it really was a shame that Sango wasn't the sex on prom night type of girl.

Sango looked at him, confused as to what he was doing outside the prom venue. "Miroku, what are you doing here?"

Miroku pulled the ticket out from his wallet. "You left this on my bedroom floor so I figured I'd return it."

Sango's eyes narrowed, he was obviously lying. While she was happy that he came, she was a little peeved that he expected to waltz in the building like a reverse Cinderella without her even asking him to go with her in the first place. "That doesn't explain why you're dressed up."

Miroku raised an eyebrow at her statement. "Honestly, Sango. How else would you expect me to go through the door? There is a dress-code is there not?"

"You have a point there."

"Well, now that I'm here; would the lady care to escort me in?" Miroku asked, extending his hand out to Sango.

Instead of taking his hand, Sango opened the passenger door of the Camaro, and buckled herself in. "Actually, I have a better idea. Let's ditch this place and go to the beach instead."

Miroku tossed the corsage behind him. The flowers landed on the parking lot with a soft pat. A wide grin spread across his face. "Now you're speaking my language."

Sango waved goodbye to Riley on the steps as the Camaro drove out of the parking lot. "Hey, Riley! Tell Amy not to wait up." she yelled.

* * *

Moonlight peeked through the clouds as Miroku pulled up in an empty spot on the sandbank of the beach. After unbuckling her seatbelt, Sango leaned over to take her heels and petticoat off. The shoes weren't exactly practical for the beach. She watched as Miroku dug in the trunk of his car for something they could sit on. He eventually found a semi-clean beach towel at the bottom. He couldn't recall how long it'd been sitting in his trunk but he figured it'd be better to sit on it than on the damp sand, especially since both he and Sango wore formal attire. Sango stretched her legs on the towel.

"Hey Miroku, can I ask you a question?"

"Ok, shoot." he responded.

"Why is it that you want to hang out with me?"

Miroku looked at Sango, dumbfounded as to what she just asked. "Because you're my friend, Sango."

"Are you sure there's not an ulterior motive?"

"Ulterior motive?"

Sango scooched closer to Miroku. Her eyes narrowed as she began to interrogate him. "Yes, like you're not just using me to get to other women. Or worse, my female friends."

Miroku laughed. "Honestly Sango, you're sharp as a tack but that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard come out of your mouth."

Sango frowned. He wasn't taking her seriously at all. "I'm serious Miroku."

Miroku's carefree smile hardened into a scowl. "No. I don't intend on getting intimate with any of your friends."

"And how do I know you're not lying? Miroku, I wasn't born yesterday. I've heard about your track record with other women. They call you the Casanova of Buchanan High; Hoshima the heartbreaker. They say that you're a sleaze who doesn't give a crap about anyone but himself."

Miroku Sighed. He knew that Sango would eventually find out about his checkered past when it came to women. Though he never expected to be given the third degree this soon. "Sango, there's no point in lying to you. Yes, I have been with many women but believe me when I say that I didn't feel anything afterwards."

"Liar." Sango muttered under her breath. A faint blush appeared on her cheeks when Miroku clasped his hand over hers.

"Sango, this may sound far-fetched. Especially coming from me of all people but I've never been in love. Lust, definitely; but not love. I guess I'm somewhat of a hopeless romantic in that way." His eyes locked on Sango, his calm yet soulful gaze pierced her like a dagger. Any longer and she could swear that sparkles would form around his face.

Sango felt like her heart was about to burst when he squeezed her hand tighter. "A-and what will you do when you find it? Love I mean." She stammered, trying to look away from his gaze.

"That, I don't know yet. But I do know when I find her, I hope to be the one to say 'I love you' first."

Miroku let go of Sango's hand as he moved his face in closer to hers. Sango closed her eyes again when Miroku's fingertips brushed against her cheek. Her heart beat even faster. Was he really about to kiss her? Would he be the one to give her that coveted first kiss? She braced herself with her lips slightly puckered. Her eyes snapped open when he completely missed her lips, instead he placed a soft peck on her other cheek.

"What was that for?" Sango asked, confused that he didn't kiss her where she expected him to.

Miroku shrugged his shoulders. "I didn't want to break tradition. It is your prom night after all."

"Besides, you're too beautiful to go home without a kiss."

In that moment, Sango could feel her heart melt again. It wasn't the first time he'd called her beautiful but this time his flattery seemed to have an entirely different effect altogether. Perhaps it was the atmosphere of the quiet, moonlit beach. Or maybe it was because she felt like she was falling for him even more. Wistfully, she stared at him for way longer than intended. She averted her eyes to the ground when the mood changed from romantic to awkward. "Its getting pretty late you know."

"Yeah, we should probably get going. I imagine your dad will be home soon and the last thing he'd want to see is you with me." Miroku said, as he picked himself off the beach towel, taking hold of Sango's hand to help her up as well.

Sango nodded. "I agree." She bent down to fold up the beach towel, unaware of Miroku ogling her backside as she hovered over the thin piece of fabric. She didn't have that poofy thing under her dress anymore so he could see the curvature of her fantastic derriere under the thin fabric of the dress. Stealthily, he placed his hand on her butt, rubbing in slow but gentle circles. Sango shot up like an arrow, her face flustered with an even brighter shade of red. And before he could register it, she gave him a hard slap to the face that felt like it would knock the wind out of him if he was any lighter.

"**Can't you stop acting perverted for once in your life?!**" She yelled with her face scrunched up in the most adorable scowl he'd ever seen.

Miroku rubbed the hand-shaped slap mark on his face. Even though Sango's slaps were painful as hell, it was a pain that he found himself growing quite fond of.

* * *

**80's Mix Tape: Track 8 **

Alphaville – Forever Young


	9. Kagome: A Kindred Spirit

**Chapter 9 – Kagome: A Kindred Spirit**

La Jolla, California, May 4th, 1986.

Seventeen year old Kagome Higurashi flipped through the stack of newspaper articles strewn about her desk. The blue light from the monitor of the Commodore 64 illuminated her sleep-deprived face. As she dug around the seemingly never-ending stack, Kagome found what she was looking for; a newspaper article from the New York Times dated from December of 1980. She recalled her run-in with those two guys at work, concentrating on the one named "Inuyasha", Somehow that name seemed familiar, then again there couldn't be many other teenage boys named Inuyasha as the name was far too uncommon. Kagome's eyes skimmed over the article, stopping at a newsprint photograph of the two sons of the late billionaire Touga Taisho at a ritzy international charity event in place of their father. Her hunch was right. Even though the photo was over five years old, she recognized Inuyasha right off the bat. Inuyasha's hair was much shorter back then but he had the same perpetually pissed-off expression from when she met him at the restaurant. However, he'd become a lot cuter now that he was grown up. The real question that plagued her mind was what the teenage son of a billionaire was doing in a quiet suburb like Portillo Beach and if it had anything to do with the recent billionaire murders?

Kagome placed the newspaper article into it's spot in the filing cabinet. She pulled out another newspaper article, this one was very recent from the Sunday edition of the Los Angeles Times. Her eyes skimmed over the headline of the newspaper.

**Vernon Hoffmeister (53) founder and C.E.O. of the Hoffmeister Group, found dead in his Ventura, California mansion. Notorious "Billionaire Killer" Still at large.**

"Another one? This 'Billionaire Killer' is getting too elusive." Kagome mumbled under her breath as she cut the article out of the newspaper, pasting it into her spiral notebook with a glue stick.

Kagome crashed on her bed, rubbing the sides of her head in exasperation. She lifted her fat cat off the bed to rest the animal on her stomach. "Well, Buyo. I do believe we are running out of leads."

Kagome patted Buyo's spotted fur, feeling the vibrations from the cat's loud purring echo throughout her body. Even though she loved solving mysteries, it was really hard work, especially when she didn't have the resources of a professional sleuth. Newspaper articles and taped recordings of news broadcasts could only help her so much as this was an international crime. For the past ten years or so this so called "Billionaire Killer" had managed to take out several different billionaires and millionaires, each killing more gruesome than the last. Kagome was at a loss, every time she thought she solved a new piece of the puzzle, the killer would always throw some kind of curveball, leaving her back where she started. If Kagome wanted more leads, she would have to go to the Portillo Beach police department and hope like crazy that Officer Sato would speak to her, for he seemed to play a big factor in the case at large. Fat chance that would ever happen, the man was too damn stubborn.

Kagome looked around her room, most people would find it odd that a sixteen year old girl would have true crime novels and filing cabinets messily stuffed with newspapers of varying sources in the same room as a powder blue, princessy king-sized canopy bed littered with cute stuffed animals. Two posters, one for the new-wave group, Culture Club, and the other one of Jem from the cartoon 'Jem and The Holograms' hung on the wall above her dresser/TV stand. Despite her odd quirks, Kagome was still a typical teenage girl with teenage girl interests. Ever since she was little, Kagome loved mysteries. Especially those in the true crime genre. Heck, Ann Rule was practically her personal hero. Sure Kagome liked the classic whodunnits and cozy mysteries as well, but nothing got the adrenaline in her veins pumping faster than actual witness accounts at the scene of a grizzly crime. She didn't want Professor Plumb, she wanted Jeffrey Dahmer. She liked true crime because she loved to get into the killer's head, to find out how, why, and what made them tick. Whereas other people might want to work in the courtroom to bring justice, Kagome wanted to be at the scene of the crime.

A career in investigative journalism was definitely in Kagome's future, and she had the college acceptance letters to prove it. Sure she could become a children's book author like her mother but that just wasn't the path she wanted to go down, even if her mother was one of the wealthiest women in California. Kagome's mother, Ann Higurashi, was a kindergarten teacher with a background in freelance illustration. Sometime in the mid seventies when Kagome was a little girl and her younger brother, Sota was an infant, Ann wrote a children's book about a cat and her animal friends living in a place called 'Happyland'. It wasn't long until Mama Higurashi's project hit the mainstream, and it was a booming success. Mittens the Kitten was a juggernaut in children's entertainment, merchandise was not only limited to picture books and toys, but also a TV show geared for preschoolers that taught young ones developmental skills. Kids loved Mittens because she was friendly and brightly colored. Parents loved Mittens because she was cute and non-threatening.

Kagome's father, Jun Higurashi, passed away from a terminal autoimmune disease when Sota was a newborn. Kagome was always really close to her father, she remembered frolicking around the lush greenery of the university where he worked as a history professor. He'd often carry her around on his shoulders, playing Kagome's favorite game, 'giant'. She remembered those childhood summers at the beach and how her dad was the undisputed sandcastle king of the family. It was the little things about him that she remembered most. Like the way her dad read her bedtime stories in funny voices every night. When Jun died, it devastated Kagome and 11 years later, she still occasionally grieved for him. She thought back to the day that they lowered his casket in the ground. Her mother and Grampa Higurashi had to pull her off because she refused to let go. A single, pressed, white chrysanthemum and her father's picture, along with his obituary rested in a photo frame upon her nightstand. Kagome picked up the picture and gave it a kiss. "Wish me luck today, daddy."

Kagome glanced up at the clock on her wall; it was about a quarter to noon. If she played her cards right, that would mean the officers at the station would be eating lunch and if the police were preoccupied with stuffing their faces with Magic Burger they'd let her see Officer Sato for sure. Kagome slung her heavy back back over her shoulders. She slid down the banister of the spiral staircase, almost knocking over one of the maids carrying a laundry basket the process.

"Sorry, Juanita!" Kagome apologized as she continued to slide down the stairs.

The maid glanced back at her with a sour expression, mumbling something in Portuguese.

At the foot of the staircase, Kagome caught her breath. Hopefully Larson wasn't too busy to give her a ride to the station. Kagome's little brother Sota was already at the end of the stairs, his eyes glued to a handheld game. She quickly ran past him.

"Whoa, what's the hurry sis?" Sota yelled out to his sister before she ran into the three-car garage.

Kagome stopped to answer her little brother. "I gotta go to the police station, do you know if Larson is busy right now?"

Sota shook his head. "Nope."

"You do know those cops aren't going to let you snoop right? You're wasting your time!" Sota shouted at his sister.

Kagome rushed into the garage where she found Larson, buffing out wax on the Rolls Royce. She started to ask him her question, only to be met with silence as Larson had his headphones on humming the tune to Bob Seger's 'Ramblin' Gamblin' Man' Kagome tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention. Larson shifted his headphones around his neck. Kenneth Larson, the Higurashi family's personal chauffeur, was a tall man in his late twenties. His flaxen hair was well-groomed with an undercut. Light green eyes and a chiseled jawline complimented his facial structure. He'd originally moved to California from a farm outside Billings, Montana to pursue a career in acting. Unfortunately, the man never made his big break in Hollywood but it didn't matter in the long run because he genuinely enjoyed the six years of gainful employment with the Higurashi family.

"Ah, Miss Kagome, what brings you here?" Larson asked, tossing the wax covered rag into the corner.

"I need a ride to the police station."

Larson sighed. "You're going to bug those police officers _again_? Honestly, Miss Kagome, you know they're just gonna send you home like the other five times you've been down there."

Kagome nodded, "I'm not going to give up until they let me speak to officer Sato, I don't want my research to go to waste y'know. Besides, I have school tomorrow morning and then I have to spend the rest of the day at work. Please Larson, I **need** this. She pleaded. Her eyes went big as she gave him her sweetest puppy-dog look.

Larson begrudgingly unlocked the doors to the Rolls Royce. "Alright, I'll drive you to the station. You know I can't say no when you make that face."

Kagome gave Larson a friendly hug. "Thanks Larson, you're the best!"

Larson cleared his throat. "Before we leave, There's something I've been meaning to ask you."

Kagome blinked. "Oh, and what's that?"

"Forgive me if I'm out of line Miss Kagome, but why on Earth did you even get a job as a waitress, it's not like you needed the money or anything."

"Life experience of course! Just because I'm a little more well-off than the average teen, it doesn't mean that I should skip the milestone of having a first job. My allowance is nice and all but I like having my own money too." Kagome stated, trying to get the seatbelt buckle to snap into it's slot.

"I guess I can't argue with that logic." Larson said, backing out of the garage and onto the street. The sun beamed off the onyx coat of the Rolls Royce as Larson drove out of the gated subdivision.

* * *

At the police station Kagome wasted no time to barrel through the front door, straight to the front desk. She nervously tapped her foot, waiting for the female officer at the desk to hang up from a phone call on the other line. Slowly but surely the officer did just that.

"Can I help you?" the officer asked, rolling her eyes at the unwanted guest.

"Hi, I just wanted to know if Officer Sato is on duty today, I need to ask him something very important."

"Officer Sato is out to lunch at the moment. I can leave a message for him if you'd like."

Kagome waived her hand. "That won't be necessary, I'll wait."

Kagome sat down in one of the navy blue vinyl-covered chairs in the lobby, patiently waiting for Officer Sato to be done with his break.

Shortly after Kagome sat down to wait, Sango walked through the front door of the police station with an army green military surplus style backpack slung over her shoulder. She offered to bring her dad lunch since he was stuck working on his day off. Dan seemed to be working over a lot recently. Heck, he even missed out on sending her off to her high school prom the night before. Though that might have been a good thing considering that Miroku was the one that dropped her off. Sango sighed under her breath, that man could work himself into a coma if he wasn't careful.

"Afternoon Sango, here to see your old man?" One of the officers on duty asked her.

"Actually, yeah. I brought us lunch." Sango responded, holding up a fast food sack from out of her backpack.

Sango sat the bag on the front desk, her attention focused on a petite, raven-haired girl, waiting by her dad's office down the hall. She looked very familiar, though Sango couldn't quite pinpoint where the two of them could've met. The girl wore a pair of kelly green short-overalls, a white t-shirt, baby-blue canvas tennis shoes, and by her side rested a large, lumpy, yellow backpack. A purple scrunchie hung off her wrist. The girl didn't wear any makeup. Frankly, she was cute enough that she didn't need it. Her long-lashed brown eyes focused on the clock above Officer Collins' desk.

"Officer Collins, who's that girl?" Sango asked.

"Oh, her. Well, apparently our precinct has our very own Nancy Drew."

"Nancy Drew?"

Officer Collins averted his eyes back to the girl sitting alone. "Yeah, she's some rich kid from the hills who likes to play detective, she's been coming here for a couple of weeks now, asking If she can speak to your old man about the Naraku incident."

Sango watched as the girl storm off in a huff, presumably bored from waiting for Officer Sato to answer the door. Sango didn't know what it was, but something about this girl piqued her curiosity. Why did the mystery girl want to know about the Naraku murders, what was so important that she would show up day after day to only be told "No" with every visit.

Sango handed Officer Collins the fast food sack. "Make sure my dad gets this."

"Where are you going Sango?" Officer Collins asked.

"Outside." Sango said, grabbing two ice-cold bottles of coca-cola from the mini fridge under the desk.

Outside of the building Sango found the girl sitting on one of the benches next to the curb. A large yellow backpack was placed neatly at the young girl's feet. Sango walked over to the girl, trying to figure out the best way to strike up a conversation.

"Mind if I sit there?" Sango asked, pointing to the empty space on the bench.

Kagome nodded, "Sure, go right ahead."

Sango handed the girl one of the bottles. "Here."

"Thanks." the girl responded.

"So, he never came out of his office huh?" Sango spoke, taking a small sip of her coke bottle.

Kagome sighed. "Yeah, I don't even know what I was thinking. I knew he was going to avoid me."

"If you don't mind me asking, what's so important that you need to speak to Officer Sato?"

Kagome reached into her backpack, pulling out her spiral notebook with the newspaper clippings of the billionaire murders.

"This, I'm trying to find new leads on the billionaire murders but It seems that I've hit a dead end in my research. I was hoping he'd help me because there seems to be a correlation between the Billionaire killer and the Naraku murders. But, you saw how that went."

Sango flipped through the notebook, impressed that the girl had taken the time to map out every single case in full detail. Newspaper sources and detailed notes sorted by case lined the pages of the seemingly simple notebook. Sango shut the notebook when she flipped past the newspaper clippings from her mother's murder case. She didn't want to see that.

"Wow, you've really put a lot of effort into your research. This is impeccable, like the work of a professional private-eye." Sango said, handing the notebook back to kagome

Kagome placed the notebook into her backpack. "Thanks, I try."

Sango held out her hand. "I'm so sorry, I forgot to introduce myself earlier. I'm Sango by the way. Officer Sato is my dad."

Kagome shook Sango's hand. "I already know who you are Sango. Your team played against my school, Elmwood, in the regional playoffs."

Sango's eyes widened. "You wouldn't happen to be Kagome Higurashi would you?

Kagome nodded. "Yeah, Why do you ask?"

"Oh nothing really, It's just that I want to apologize for smacking you in the face with the volleyball a few weeks ago."

Kagome thought about it for a moment. "If I recall, you were the team captain, number 5 correct?"

Sango's eyes widened at Kagome's assumption, shocked that the girl could remember details like that. Kagome either had a photographic memory or she was part elephant. Either way, Sango found it kind of spooky how Kagome could recall something unimportant like a jersey number.

Sango nodded. "Yeah, I'm the team captain. Once again, I'm so sorry about that really hard serve. I meant to visit you in the hospital to apologize but the nurse told me you'd been discharged by the time I got there."

"Don't sweat it! I got a new nose out of it, see!" Kagome laughed, pointing to her nose.

"I really envy you, I always wanted to go to Elmwood for their academic track record but it's way too expensive for my dad's salary, and the student body seemed a little snooty, no offense." Sango remarked, tracing her foot on the edge of the concrete pavement.

Kagome waved her hand. "None taken. I don't quite fit the 'Elmwood Mold' myself."

* * *

Sango and Kagome continued to talk about their schools and other things like how Kagome's mom was the creator of the beloved childrens icon "Mittens the Kitten" and how they both had an affinity for reading true crime novels and watching mysteries. They even had similar tastes in music. It seemed like Kagome was big-time friendship material. Sango barely started talking to her barely an hour ago but it felt like they knew each other for years. Soon, the topic of college came up in their conversation.

"So Kagome, get into any good colleges?" Sango asked.

"Actually, I just got my acceptance letter from Brantham. I was pretty shocked since I'm weak at math, according to my SAT score."

Sango smiled. "Looks like we're headed to the same place then."

"Awesome! I hope I see you on campus."

Kagome's eyes darted around the courtyard. "Hey Sango, you wouldn't happen to know the time would you?"

Sango shook her head. "My guess is that we've been talking for at least an hour."

Kagome cupped her face with her hands. "Oh crap. I forgot to call Larson, I told him I would only take about fifteen minutes! He's going to be super pissed that I made him wait so long."

"Who's Larson?" Sango asked.

"Larson is my family's chauffeur, he gets really cranky when I make him wait for a long time." Kagome said, rummaging through her backpack for the cell-phone her mom insisted she take with her.

"Ah-ha there it is!"

Sango stared in awe at the brick-like device in Kagome's hand. "What the heck is that thing?"

"It's a cellular phone. Y'know to make calls on. You've never seen one before?"

"Well, not in person. I just assumed it was some kind of gag prop that businessmen carry around for comedic effect in sitcoms."

Sango watched as Kagome began to dial in a phone number on the cell-phone. Kagome then spoke into the phone.

"Hey, Larson. It's Kagome, I'm just about done here so if you can come pick me up, that would be swell."

Within just a few minutes a black Rolls Royce pulled up beside the two girls. A blond man who looked like to be in his late twenties stepped out of the car to open the passenger door for Kagome. Sango gawked at the man, finding him to be a little too good-looking to be stuck as a chauffeur.

Kagome introduced the man to Sango. "Sango, this is Larson, my chauffeur. Larson, this is Sango, she's Officer Sato's daughter."

"Afternoon Miss Sango." Larson bowed with the cap of his uniform.

"Um hello." Sango politely waved.

Kagome hopped into the front seat of the Rolls Royce. "Sango, I gotta go but I really do hope we get the chance to hang out again soon." She handed Sango one of her mom's old business cards. "I know it has my mom's name on it but the number goes to the phone line in my room. Call me so we can hang out when you're free!"

Larson tipped his hat again as he shut the passenger door. Sango watched as the fancy-pants car slowly rolled out of the parking lot. She looked down at the business card. For a person who liked mysteries so much, Kagome seemed like quite the mystery herself.

Sango headed back into the direction of the police station, hopefully her dad wouldn't be too mad at her for skipping lunch. By now her cheeseburger and fries were most likely ice-cold.

* * *

**80's Slang/General Glossary **

**Commodore 64**\- Often reffered to as the granddaddy of the PC. Although completely useless now, in it's heyday it was the "it" gadget to have for the technologically inclined teenager. Rival technology to the original Macintosh.

**Culture Club –** 1980's new wave/pop group from the UK whose frontman is the ever androgynous Boy George

**Jem and The Holograms – **1985 cartoon series/toy line about a girl named Jerrica Benton who transformed into a pop superstar named Jem with the help of a computer inside a pair of magic earrings. Normally geared towards little girls, it also had a secondary fanbase of teens who loved the drama aspect of the show.

**Nancy Drew – **Protagonist of a 1930's mystery novel series that spanned seven decades and 130 consecutive novels, eventually ending in 2003.

**Ann Rule- **The De-facto queen of the True Crime genre. She broke major ground in the 80's when she was able to actually interview serial killer Ted Bundy and live to tell about it.

"**The Brick" - **Otherwise known as the Motorola DynaTAC. Or to Saved By The Bell fans the "Zack Morris phone"

* * *

**80's Mix Tape: Track 9 **

Steve Perry – Oh Sherrie


	10. Nocturnal Fantasies: Daytime Realities

**Chapter 10 - Nocturnal Fantasies and Daytime realities.**

**[A/N]** Disclaimer - Citrus.

* * *

_His snoring was interrupted by the feeling of a warm weight on his chest. Groggily, he opened his eyes to find her straddled on top of him as feminine fingertips ran through his disheveled dark locks. _

_The girl smiled at him "So, you're awake now." _

_Miroku quickly sat up; confused as to why she was here at this hour. "Sango, what are you doing here, shouldn't you be in school right now, more importantly how did you get in my house?" _

_She pressed her index finger to his lips. "Hush, none of that matters now, after all it's my last day of school and in all fairness I'd rather spend it with you." _

_Sango traced the collar of her school uniform sweater vest. "This uniform, it entices you does it not?" _

_Miroku gulped, could his deepest fantasy really be happening? "Well, yeah." _

_Sango grabbed his left hand, placing it against the swell of her breasts. "I want you to remove it." _

_"I beg your pardon?" His eyes widened in shock at her sudden request. Oh yeah, it was definitely happening. Sango moaned as his hand squeezed her breast. _

_"Please, Miroku. Take off my uniform Miroku and fuck me like the naughty little schoolgirl of your dreams." _

_Miroku smirked. "If that is what the lady wishes." _

_Miroku tilted her chin up, placing kisses on her slender neck, gradually moving upwards until he reached her soft pink lips. His kiss was forceful at first, then softer as he parted her lips. He gently nipped her bottom lip with his teeth, pulling back from the kiss, all the while his hands were busy kneading the soft flesh covered by her sweater vest. Panting, he untied the decorative ribbon around her collar._

_After throwing the ribbon on the floor, he grabbed the hem of the sweater vest and lifted it over her head, revealing the fitted white button-up blouse she wore underneath. Sango pulled him closer, hungrily claiming his lips once more while he unbuttoned her blouse with tremendous ease. Miroku pushed the blouse off Sango's shoulders, all that stood in the way of his first peek of her tender flesh was a thin, lacy, white brassiere. He could see the outlines of her erect nipples through the semi-sheer lace. Miroku reached his hands around her back for the clasp, removing the delicate lace undergarment from her body. _

_Sango quickly covered her naked breasts with her arms. _

"_Not until you take off yours too." she said, pointing out the fact that Miroku still had his t-shirt on. _

_Miroku groaned as he lifted his shirt over his head. "Is that better?" _

_Sango blushed, biting her bottom lip as she gave an approving nod at the sight of his bare chest. "Uh-huh." _

_She gently traced the contours of his chest and abdomen with her fingers. The sensation sent shivers down his spine. Her eyes shifted downwards when she reached the apex of Miroku's toned thighs, blushing at the erection tented in the fabric of his boxer shorts. Curiously, she touched the tip. Sango innocently brought her index finger to her lips. _

"_May I?" she asked. _

_Miroku grabbed at the elastic waistband of his boxer shorts. "Here, let me help you." he said, quickly sliding the bothersome underwear off of his body. _

_Sango's eyes widened at the sight of his engorged member. "I never knew you were so big." She remarked, trailing her fingers up and down the shaft of his hardened cock. Miroku jerked his head back as he tried his hardest not to let out any premature groans when she kissed the tip. _

_"You've never done this before have you?" _

_Embarrassed, Sango shook her head. "Is it that obvious?" _

"_Well yeah, but don't stop on my account." _

_Taking his cue to begin, Sango licked his member upward from the shaft to the head. She tucked her loose hair behind her ear as she wrapped her lips around him. It was a tight fit as her mouth happened to be on the small side but she made it work to her advantage. Gradually, she moved her head up and down. Miroku jerked his head back in ecstasy once more, this time letting the grunts and moans take their course. _

"_Fuck Sango. So good." he moaned. _

_Sango's pace quickened, he was pleasantly surprised that she had gotten the hang of fellatio so quickly. Miroku let out an almost primal growl from the back of his throat as Sango swirled her tongue around harder. Feeling like he was ten seconds away from exploding in her mouth he had to do something and quick. Miroku grabbed hold of her long ponytail, pulling her free from his engorged cock. Unfortunately, his course of action arrived a little too late as Sango's face ended up completely drenched with his sticky release._

"**BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!" **

Miroku jolted from his slumber as the alarm clock went off. He pounded the snooze button on the clock radio with his fist.

_Damn alarm, and just when it was about to get good too. _

Without a doubt his erotic dream had been on the intense side. He soon realized that maybe it might have been a little too intense as the spot where his blanket covered his lower half was soaked all the way through. Miroku quickly rushed to his feet, headed for the bathroom in the hallway.

Outside of the bathroom door, he could hear Rin blow-drying her hair. Miroku knocked on the bathroom door.

"Rin, could you hurry up in there. I need to use the bathroom."

Rin temporarily shut off the blow-dryer. "Can't you see I'm busy right now? Just go use the one downstairs."

Miroku groaned as he ran downstairs, he hoped the bathroom there was empty as well, otherwise he would have to find somewhere else to release himself.

Miroku made it to the downstairs bathroom. Thankfully, it wasn't occupied by one of his parents. He lifted the lid of the toilet seat, figuring it would be easiest if he pumped his spunk into the toilet rather than one of the towels from the cabinet. Of all the times that Rin had to hog the upstairs bathroom, this had to be one of the worst since the hidden hole in the cabinet where he hid his porno mags happened to be upstairs in that bathroom. All that was in this bathroom were his moms bath beads, perfumes, and all that other girly crap.

After he was finished in the bathroom, Miroku went back upstairs to get dressed. His impromptu wet dream had been correct about one thing, today really was Sango's last day of school. He would meet her in his usual spot outside of the school gate when she got out. Although the two of them were clearly not an item they still set aside plenty of time to enjoy each others company. The walk home from St. Catherine's just so happened to be one of his favorite daily activities, aside from the fact that Sango slapped him hard every time he tried to rub that fantastic ass of hers under that delightfully short plaid skirt. Miroku looked at the clock in his room, it was almost an hour til' noon. Usually, Sango was dismissed from school at 2:30 but her last day happened to be an early dismissal so she would get out at noon instead.

Before heading on the right path to Sango's high school, Miroku stopped by the mini mart to pick up a bouquet of roses as a graduation present for Sango. He wouldn't be able to make it to her graduation ceremony over the weekend since he would be stuck at Silent Pines, so he figured he would surprise her with the roses today.

He parked the car as he made a beeline to the front gate of St. Catherine's with fifteen minutes to spare. He leaned against the wrought iron fence, slowly spinning the bouquet of red roses in his hand. As he waited, an elderly man walking an obese pug stopped beside him. Miroku recognized the man as Mr. Abernathy, a friendly neighbor of his from down the street.

"Those for your sweetheart?" The old man asked, pointing to the roses in Miroku's hand.

"You could say that." Miroku responded.

"Oh, this building certainly brings me back. Seems like just yesterday I was in your position as I waited for my Abigail. Either I'm shrinking or has that fence gotten a lot taller?"

"Probably a little of both." Miroku responded, looking up at the clock over the Chapel's main entrance. "I wasn't aware that St. Catherine's had been around that long."

"It's been here for as long as Portillo Beach has existed. Though back then, there certainly weren't this many houses."

"So, Abigail. I assume that was Mrs. Abernathy?" Miroku continued, figuring that keeping the old man company for a few minutes would make the time go by quicker.

The old man smiled as he began to reminisce. "Met her right here in front of these gates in '43, little did I know I'd be shipped off to fight the Nazis for two years. But she waited for me. When I got out of the Army, the first thing I did after getting off that boat was run right here to these very gates. When that bell rang, I scooped her up in my arms and popped the question right on the spot. 40 years of marriage to that wonderful woman and not a day goes by that I don't miss her dearly."

Mr. Abernathy stopped himself. "Of course I didn't fight any of your people in the war though, just the Germans."

"She must've been one helluva beauty to stop a soldier in his tracks." Miroku chuckled.

"Indeed she was." Mr. Abernathy yawned, stretching his arm forward. "Well, I must be going or else I'm gonna miss my programs. Tell your folks I said hi, Miroku." The old man said as he waved goodbye.

Miroku returned the gesture as he continued to wait patiently for the end bell to ring.

* * *

Sango stared at the clock ticking away in her homeroom class, In fifteen minutes she would be done with high school forever. Today had been a day of pure celebration. The nuns and Father Matthew threw each senior homeroom a pizza party to celebrate the upcoming graduation ceremony. Each classroom was decked to the nines in gold and black balloons, streamers, and party favors. The desks were pulled together with lots of fresh sweets and cakes. "Congratulations class of 1986" was written in multicolored chalk on the chalkboard. Sango focused her attention off of the clock and on to her friends Riley, Amy, and, Miranda. The three girls stared out the window and into the street.

"Hey Sango, Miroku is outside." Amy said, as the other two girls joined her at the window.

"And would you look at that, he brought roses like a good boyfriend." Miranda teased.

Sango huffed. "How many times do I have to tell you that he's NOT my boyfriend. He's just a friend."

Amy giggled. "Yeah sure, whatever. Everyone knows a 'friend' would show up fifteen minutes early with a bouquet of roses. You aren't fooling anyone, Sango."

"So, how was he Saturday night? Was he big enough to make your cherry..." Miranda smirked as she made a loud popping sound by thumping her index finger on her cheek. "Pop."

Sango glared at Miranda. "No, because we didn't have sex."

Miranda and Amy stood back, shocked at Sango's answer. "Didn't have sex?" they both said in unison.

"But you ditched the rest of prom to be with him?" Amy continued.

"And your point is?" Sango groaned, wishing they'd stop interrogating her about her love life.

Trying to avoid another useless inquisition from Amy and Miranda, Sango looked out the window to see Miroku standing in his usual spot waiting for the dismissal bell to ring. There was an old man talking to him, but he seemed to have left already.

"Sango you are so lucky to have a guy who cares enough to walk you home every day." Riley pouted.

Sango tried not to snort at her friend's sentiment. Riley would probably think that Miroku was a complete sleaze if she witnessed his 'busy hands' for herself.

"What happened to David? Did you guys break up?"

Riley crossed her arms. "David is a pig."

"Why, what happened?"

"Riley found out that David cheated on her with that theater slut, Helen Ulrich. It was inevitable, she was the Juliet to his Romeo when our drama club paired up with St. Barnabas'." Miranda nonchalantly blurted out.

"I should have gotten that part. I'm a much better actress than Helen fucking monotone, Ulrich." Riley pouted.

Sango's eyes widened in shock. Riley never swore and yet she just threw an F-bomb like it was nothing.

"Yeah, but your boobs were too big to fit into Juliet's dress." Amy said.

"I could have ALTERED it!" Riley yelled.

Miranda continued, clearing her throat. "As I was saying, Sango. David dumped her right after you left with Miroku. It was a total mess."

"Who, Helen?"

"No, Riley."

"Miranda! I told you not to tell anyone." Riley whined.

Sango patted Riley on the shoulder. "I'm sorry to hear that, Riley. He seemed like such a nice guy too."

While Sango was trying to console Riley, Miranda and Amy managed to open the window of the classroom by picking the window lock with a bobby pin. They quickly yanked Sango away from her conversation.

"What the Hell are you doing?" Sango shrieked as the two girls shoved her in front of the window.

"**Hey Loverboy, looking for this?"** Miranda yelled as she pushed Sango out of the window, catching Miroku's immediate attention. He hastily rushed over to catch Sango before she fell in the gardenia bushes below. He dropped the bouquet of roses on the grass before he managed to catch her fall in a bridal carry.

"Well, isn't this a nice surprise. It's not everyday that the Gods decide to throw beautiful women at me." he smirked, setting her back on the ground.

Amy threw Sango's backpack out the window. "Now get out of here you two! Go now, shoo. Have fun!" she playfully gestured, shutting the window once more.

Miroku picked up the backpack and the roses lying on the grass. He handed the backpack to Sango. She shrugged the backpack on her shoulders.

In the window Sango's friends were casually observing his every move. The girls ducked down when he looked up at them.

"Your friends seem like a lively bunch of girls. I nearly had a panic attack when they shoved you out of that second story window. Do they always pull stunts like that?"

Sango sighed, "You don't even know the half of it."

"What are the flowers for?" she asked.

Miroku placed the bouquet in her hand. "For you of course. Congrats, graduate!"

Sango blushed. "Thank you Miroku, they're really lovely."

Miroku grinned. "Glad you like them."

The two of them walked along the usual path to Sango's house, idly chatting along the way. Although she had to put up with constant 'boyfriend' and 'virgin' jokes from Amy and Miranda, Sango really enjoyed her daily walks home from school with Miroku, aside from his occasional busy hand of course. When she realized that today would be the absolute last day that they could walk together like this, Sango felt a little depressed. Sure she could always visit with him at his house now that school was out but it wouldn't be the same.

Sango opened her front door using the key she kept tucked away in her backpack.

"Do you want to come in and hang out for a bit? It's just me and Kohaku home right now. We could take turns playing video games or we could watch TV."

Miroku reluctantly declined her offer. "I'd like to but I have to get back home. There are some things I need to take care of."

"Oh, okay. I guess we can hang out some other time."

"Call me later, Sango?"

"Of course, same time as usual?"

Miroku nodded. "I'm looking forward to it. Later, Sango."

* * *

Sango shut the front door, stepping into the front room. Kohaku sat in his usual spot on the couch, video game controller in his hand with Kirara perched on his shoulder, and an open bag of funyuns in his lap.

"What's with the flowers, sis?" he asked.

"Miroku gave them to me as a graduation gift. Now do you know where dad put the flower vase last?"

Kohaku paused his game. "Probably under the kitchen sink."

Sango opened the cabinet doors under the sink, moving around a few household items before she found the vase at the back of the cabinet. She filled the vase up with some water and cut the stems of the roses to where they would stick out of the vase just right.

"Perfect!" She exclaimed, placing the roses in the center of the kitchen table.

Sango joined her brother on the couch. "So whatcha playing?"

"Ninja Fighters II. I'm about to beat the final boss."

The game made a whirring sound as the screen went blank, flashing a large "GAME OVER"

"What the crap! I had him." Kohaku pouted.

"So where's Miroku at? Doesn't he usually stick around until dad tells him to get lost."

"He said he had some important things to do today." Sango said, digging through her backpack for some of the candy she had stashed away from the party at school. Instead of finding candy, she found the graduation invitation that she meant to give to Miroku when he arrived to walk her home.

Sango pulled her backpack over her shoulders "Kohaku, I have to take care of something, I'll be back In a little bit. Make sure you lock the door when I leave, okay?"

Kohaku gave her his word. "No problem, sis."

Sango headed towards the back door to retrieve her bike from the porch. Walking her bike beside her, Sango lifted the latch on the back gate. After she closed the latch, she hopped on the bike, speeding off in the direction of Miroku's street.

Sango knocked on Miroku's front door and Just like last time, Rin answered the door.

"Rin, do you know where Miroku is?" Sango asked.

Rin rubbed her sleepy eyes. Sango had apparently disturbed her nap with her insistent knocking.

"Onii-chan is not here at the moment, he's at Jimmy's place."

"Can you tell me how to get there?"

Rin yawned. "Sure, it's right down the street, look for the really big fancy house with the circle driveway. He should be in the garage. Knock five times so the stupidheads know to let you in."

Sango shook Rin's hand. "Thank you so much, Rin."

Sango pedaled her bike down the street until she finally reached Jimmy's McMansion. Rin wasn't kidding, this house was huge compared to hers. Sango walked her bike up the circular driveway, stopping at the garage where Rin said that Miroku would probably be at.

* * *

Andrew nudged his friend's shoulder. "Come on man, do it! Say the line."

"i don't want to, it hurts my voice when I try to get it that high." Miroku complained.

"But you're the only one that can do the voice right. I'll give you five bucks."

Miroku took a deep breath before yelling the infamous line from Sixteen Candles.

"**OH SEXIII GIIIRRLLLFRIIEND!" **

Miroku coughed. "Alright, now pay up little man."

Andrew beamed as he handed the crisp five dollar bill over to his friend. "Totally worth it."

Miroku slumped back on the couch. "I can't believe I just sold my dignity for five bucks."

Inside of the garage, the four members of Gladius were doing what they usually did in the afternoon; getting stoned. Stony recently purchased a new bong and the guys were busy testing it. Smoke filled the entire garage as each guy took their hits.

"Hey Jimmy, what's with the skirt? Isn't it a little early to be dressed up as Rowdy Roddy Piper for Halloween?" Stony joked, pointing to his friends questionable choice of attire consisting of a black band tee, a forest green tartan kilt, and a pair of distressed black combat boots. Even with the kilt, Jimmy wasn't bad looking. Though his long, golden blond, locks and slim swimmer build only added insult to injury.

Jimmy crossed his arms. "It's not a skirt, it's a kilt."

Miroku took another hit from the bong. "Okay, what's with the kilt then?"

"My mom volunteered me to help organize the highland festival in Irvine this weekend, she insisted that I wear clan McSpadden's traditional tartan. At first I tried to weasel my way out of it but she's pretty much making me go this year. Although I do have to say the Scotsmen were smart when they made these things, it's actually quite comfortable to wear, a little breezy but still comfy."

Stony shook his head. "Nope, still not buying it, that's a skirt. So..do I call you Jenny now?"

"Want me to whip it out right here, right now? I ain't no fuckin' lady." Jimmy retorted as he grabbed at his crotch to make a point.

Stony snorted at Jimmy. "Fucking fag. Ain't nobody wanna see your dick."

The conversation about Jimmy's outfit ended when the guys heard their secret knock at the garage door.

Miroku stood up from his spot on the couch. "it's probably Rin, I'll go tell her to get lost."

Jimmy pressed the button on the wall to open the garage door. The band members were surprised to find that instead of Miroku's little sister, outside of the door stood an older Asian girl dressed in St. Catherine's school uniform. She coughed as the smoke from the garage escaped outside. Jimmy quickly grabbed the can of air freshener from one of the garage shelves and began spraying as Miroku approached the girl.

"Sango, what are you doing here? Not that I want you to leave or anything. Please come in."

Sango stepped inside the garage. The air-freshener didn't help much as the thick smell of pot mixed with motor oil wafted against her nose.

Miroku introduced her. "Guys this is my friend, Sango."

Sango politely waved at the three strangers. "Hello."

"Sango, these are my bandmates. The grump behind the drum kit is Stony, The guy half asleep on the couch with the guitar on his lap is Andrew, and the dork in the skirt is Jimmy."

Sango took a good look at Miroku's group of friends. Burnouts, the lot of them. She noticed the one in the kilt unabashedly eyeing her up and down. _Oh great, another pervert. _

Jimmy shook Sango's hand. "It's not a skirt, it's a kilt. Anyways, it's nice to finally meet you Sango."

"Likewise." she responded.

"So, what brings a cutie like you by my garage today?" Jimmy asked, giving Sango a flirtatious wink.

"Actually, I'm here because I forgot to give something to Miroku earlier."

"Excuse us for a moment, Jimmy." Miroku led Sango out of the garage and into the driveway.

Sango dug into her backpack and pulled out the envelope with the graduation invitation inside of it. She handed the envelope to Miroku.

Miroku looked at the envelope. "What's this?"

"I know you can't make it to my graduation on Saturday but I thought you might still like the invitation since it has some of my senior pictures inside of it."

Miroku opened the envelope, finding the both of the pictures tucked neatly in the invite. One of the pictures was her senior cap and gown pic and the other one was just a regular school photo of Sango in her school uniform. He tucked the invitation into one of the pockets on his vest, taking extra care not to crease it.

"I appreciate you coming all this way to give me an invite. Your pictures look amazing."

Sango closed the latch on her backpack. "You really think so? I think the school photo one looks a little weird, like I had a deer in the headlights look on my face when the camera flashed."

"But I like that one the best. It didn't look weird at all." Miroku objected.

"In fact, I think you look really cute."

Sango's cheeks flushed pink at his 'cute' comment. "Miroku, I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Yeah?"

Sango's foot traced small circles on the pavement of Jimmy's driveway. "Well, since you don't have to go to Silent Pines on Sundays. I promised Kohaku I would take him to the indoor arcade on the boardwalk that day. Would you like to join us? It's not like a date or anything so don't get the wrong idea."

"Sure, I'd love to. Do you want me to pick you guys up or should I meet you at the spot?" he asked.

"Whatever is fine with you, I guess. Just be sure to give me a call first okay?"

"No problem."

Sango unlocked the kickstand from her bike. "I better head back home, I seriously doubt Kohaku remembered to lock the door. See you later, Miroku."

Miroku watched as Sango sped off down the street on her bike. In that moment, he wished that her skirt would fly up with the breeze so he could get a peek at her panties. God, he was gonna miss that uniform after today.

* * *

Jimmy closed the garage door once Miroku was back inside. Moving Andy's feet out of the way, Miroku plopped down on the last vacant cushion on the couch. For some odd reason the garage was completely silent aside from Andrew thumping the strings on his bass.

"Why is it so quiet in here? I was only gone for ten minutes."

Jimmy laughed as he leaned against the wall, "Alright, I can't hold it in anymore. Whatever went on outside was **painful**. Are you some kind of fucking moron, Miroku?"

Miroku jerked up from the couch. "What exactly are you trying to say Jimmy?"

"I'm saying you're an idiot for keeping a choice babe like that in the friend-zone. Good God man, you said that Sango was cute but she's smoking hot! She's like Playboy hot!"

Miroku thumped his friend on the forehead. "What did you think? that I'd wanna date some uggo?"

"I know I've said this once before but you gotta ask her out man! Once she's at Brantham who's to say that her cherry won't be popped by some nouveau riche asshole driving a Ferrari."

Miroku rolled his eyes at Jimmy. "Do we really have to have this conversation again? I swear you and your damn one-track-mind."

Stony tapped the snare on his drum kit. By the look on his face he was just as annoyed as Miroku was with Jimmy's lecture about girls. "Goddamn, you two are worse than a bunch of chicks! Miroku's squeeze is hot, I get it, we all get it. Are we going to play or what?"

Miroku picked up his guitar from behind the couch. Stony was right, now wasn't the time or the place to be thinking about Sango. Besides, Sunday and his first date with her was just around the corner. She said that it wasn't going to be a date, but he had a feeling that it would end up as one.

* * *

**80's Slang/General Glossary **

**Squeeze- **A girl, or guy, who is not one's girlfriend/boyfriend, but still down for sex. In Miroku's case, its only the former part.

**Rowdy Roddy Piper- **A pro wrestler who was famous in the 80's for donning a kilt in his faux Scotsman stage persona when he was really from Canada.

**Sixteen Candles- **1984 teen flick that starred Molly Ringwald and Anthony Michael Hall. Started the beginning of director John Hughes' "Brat Pack" era.

* * *

**80's Mix Tape: Track 10**

Danger Danger – Naughty Naughty


	11. First NOT Date

**Chapter 11 - First NOT-date**

That Sunday morning, Sango woke up to the sound of someone cooking in the kitchen. Yawning, she crawled out of bed, confused as to who was cooking downstairs as her dad had mentioned that he had to go to the station that morning. The only other plausible scenario could be that Kohaku was cooking something up. Only one problem; Kohaku didn't cook. In fact, his cooking skills were ten times worse than hers. The kid couldn't even make boxed macaroni and cheese without ruining the pot by burning it to hell afterwards. Sango's stomach grumbled as she sluggishly walked down the hall. Whatever was cooking in the kitchen smelled amazing, although a little on the pungent, spicy, side compared to the breakfast foodstuffs she was used to cooking.

_Maybe dad decided to take a day off. _Sango wondered, her eyes still partially closed as she let out another yawn, stretching her arms above her head.

"I don't suppose you have coffee ready?" she asked the person cooking on the stove, not really paying attention to who was wielding the spatula.

"Well good morning to you too sunshine!" A masculine voice sarcastically answered back.

Sango's eyes snapped open. _That voice...that's not my dad. _

Sango took a step back, almost losing her balance when she realized who was at the stove. "Miroku, what are you doing here? I thought you weren't coming til' noon."

Miroku flipped the contents of the skillet with the spatula."What? a guy can't show up at eight am to make breakfast for his best friend and her little brother. Come on Sango, I thought you knew me better than that."

As his breakfast ingredients sizzled in the pan, Miroku took a good look at his friend, she apparently just rolled out of bed as she was still in her pajama bottoms and her hair was a rat's nest of tangles. Even though Sango was the type of girl that wore makeup on a daily basis, her natural beauty gave her a radiant glow that bedhead nor half-asleep eyes could diminish. For a brief second, Miroku daydreamed about what it would feel like to wake up to that sleepy face every morning. That thought was quickly nixed when he noticed something far more interesting than her messy hair. His eyes locked on Sango's chest where she sported a thin, white, lace-trimmed camisole with nothing underneath, showing every curve of her well-endowed chest. His palms began to sweat when Sango rocked back in her chair with her arms tucked under her chest. Miroku couldn't help but gawk at the way her breasts jiggled as the chair hit the ground. Miroku felt the spatula in his hand slip out of his increasingly sweaty grasp. Fumbling, he managed to catch the spatula before it fell on the ground, expressing a sigh of relief afterwards. He quickly regained his cool as he continued to eyeball the meat and eggs sizzling in the skillet. However, he was weak against her womanly assets and he soon found himself back where he started. A devious smirk spread across his face; two could play at this game.

"Cold in here, Sango?" He asked, nonchalantly.

Sango shrugged. "I guess I'm a little chilly, but it's fine."

Miroku flexed his hand. "Are you sure? Perhaps I can offer some assistance if you need warming up?"

Kohaku snickered from behind his hand-held game. Sango gave the teenager a puzzled look. "Alright, what's so funny?"

"He means your nipples are showing, Sis."

Sango's face went crimson from embarrassment. She quickly covered her chest with her arms while running into her bedroom to put on something considerably less revealing. Rummaging through her dresser drawer like a hungry raccoon, she found an over-sized black t-shirt. Sango pulled the shirt over her head, taking one last look in the mirror to make sure that her nipples were well-hidden this time around. She grabbed her chest, regretting the fact that earlier she didn't think to cover up her sweater-puppies a little better. Then again, she woke up thinking only her family would be in the kitchen at this hour and not Miroku. Of course the pervert would have noticed that she wasn't wearing a bra. The smell of breakfast drifted through the air again as she made her way back into the kitchen.

Sango rejoined Kohaku at the kitchen table. Miroku had placed three plates down with what looked like eggs scrambled with sausage and peppers in them. He then placed a big plate of homemade tortillas in the center of the table next to some small jars of salsa.

"What's this called?" Sango asked him, shifting the contents of her plate around with her fork. Whatever it was, it at least smelled appetizing.

Miroku scooped up some of the contents of his plate into one of the tortillas.

"Chorizo con huevos, I learned how to make it from Stony's mom. Go on, roll up some in a tortilla, I promise it's really tasty."

Kohaku was the first to take a bite of the breakfast tacos. His eyes widened in shock. "This tastes amazing!"

"It can't be all that great." Sango scoffed as she took a bite. She soon found herself literally eating her words. How in the Hell was Miroku such a great cook? Heck, he was even better than his mom!

Kohaku piled more salsa on his 2nd go at the breakfast tacos. "If this is what food is, then what have we been eating?"

"Hey, it's not like I don't try to cook." Sango snapped at her brother.

"Maybe you should take lessons from Miroku then? His cooking skills absolutely pulverize yours!" Kohaku managed to spit out between bites.

For once, Sango had to agree with him. With Miroku around they could probably have decent meals for a change and not just steak-umms over rice because she and her dad felt lazy.

Once the food was all eaten, Sango began to gather up the plates. Just as she was about to make the dishwater, Miroku stopped her.

"Don't worry about it Sango, I'll take it from here."

Sango turned on the hot water tap. "Are you sure, I don't mind doing it myself or even helping you."

"I insist, besides you probably need to get dressed for our outing in a couple of hours." Miroku said, placing his hand over hers.

In an instant Sango's eyes met his. She quickly jerked her hand away from his before things got a little too awkward between them. "Right, of course. I-um need to get ready."

Miroku went back to tending to the dishes as Sango walked off to her bedroom.

Sango took one last look at him before he was out of her peripheral vision. "Oh, and by the way, Miroku."

"Yeah?"

"If I catch you peeping at me while I'm undressing, you're dead."

Miroku grinned at her. "So, does this mean I can peep on you when you're _getting dressed_ instead?"

Sango glared at him. _Of course he would find some kind of a loophole._ "None of that either."

"Duly noted, Sango." Miroku responded, returning his attention to the dishes in the sink.

* * *

Sango turned on the water for her shower after taking one last look around for any prying eyes. Even though this was her house, she didn't feel completely safe with that pervert looming just down the hall. Making sure the coast was clear, she draped her towel on the back of the toilet seat.

Outside in the hall, Miroku could hear the water running in Sango's room as well as the faint sound of Sango singing in the shower. Her singing was pleasant, hardly off key. He leaned against the wall to hear more. Once the shower went off, so did her singing voice.

After she was done blow-drying and fixing her hair up in her usual high-ponytail and white ribbon, Sango stood in front of her closet. Her hands picked through the layers of clothing, trying to find a suitable outfit to wear. Within ten minutes most of the contents of her closet wound up on the floor. Sango sighed, she wondered why was she making something as simple as choosing an outfit so difficult? This wasn't even a real date; it was just an outing as friends for Pete's sake. Feeling that she had enough of that nonsense, Sango closed her eyes and picked two items at random off of the floor. Surprisingly, her choice comprised of a pair of high-waisted denim shorts and a pink and white t-shirt looked pretty good for a blind pick. She tucked the hem of the t-shirt into the shorts. Sango glanced down at the pile of clothes on the floor. _Crap, now I have to pick all of this up. _

* * *

While Sango was busy getting ready, Miroku and Kohaku sat on the couch. Kohaku had his nose stuck in a book while he patiently waited for his sister to finish up. Miroku took a quick look at the freckle-faced teenage kid sitting on the opposite side of the couch. He chuckled, Kohaku was positively the polar opposite of Rin. Rin was never this quiet in the company of others, nothing could get that kid's motormouth to stop once it started going. Come to think of it he never really saw her read either, aside from trashy teenybopper magazines like Tiger Beat.

Miroku glanced at the book in Kohaku's hand. "Firestarter, huh?"

Kohaku nodded, "Yeah, It's really good too. I'm on the eighth chapter."

"So you like Stephen King books then?"

Kohaku flipped a page of his book. "Yeah, he's one of my favorites. I've read most of his books except for Cujo. I've been meaning to borrow it from the library but I always forget about it when I'm there."

"Do you like horror movies too?"

Kohaku shut his book, setting it down on the coffee table. Smiling from ear-to-ear, he adjusted his glasses. "Wanna see my collection?"

Kohaku led Miroku into his bedroom. Upon entering, Miroku was stunned at the décor in Kohaku's room, The teen's walls were painted black and plastered with poster prints of slasher villains like Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees. Red paint, painted to look like blood drips cascaded down from the ceiling. On one of the walls resided a big glass shadow-box full of ninja weapons and knives of assorted sizes and lengths. Kohaku had also amassed a giant collection of horror-themed action figures and oddities neatly placed on shelves throughout his room.

Miroku picked up a jar with a pinkish-grey blob submersed in green-yellow liquid.

"Hey Kohaku, what's this?"

Kohaku grinned, "Oh, that's my rhesus monkey brain. Cool isn't it?"

Miroku sat the jar down. "What on Earth are you doing with a monkey brain?"

Kohaku pulled out two large cardboard boxes from under his TV stand.

"I found it at a flea market in San Bernardino a couple of years ago. The guy I bought it from was also selling genuine Roswell alien urine but I thought the brain was cooler."

Kohaku placed the open boxes on his bed. "Well, this is it. My collection!"

Miroku dug through one of the boxes. Kohaku wasn't kidding, his collection of Horror VHS tapes was huge. The Evil Dead, Basket Case, Hell Night, Halloween, Cannibal Holocaust, Hellraiser, and a bunch of others lined the cardboard boxes.

"How in the Hell did you get all of these? Aren't VHS tapes supposed to be ridiculously expensive to own?"

"From my friend Bradley, his dad is the owner of Rewind Rob's Video. Every few years or so his dad gets new copies of different VHS tapes and throws away the old ones that don't sell." Kohaku responded.

"Bradley Feegan?"

Kohaku nodded. "Yeah, that's the guy. How do you know him, Miroku?"

"We were in the same homeroom class in high school." Miroku responded.

Miroku packed the VHS tapes back into the boxes "Well, it's an amazing collection Kohaku, I have to say I'm kind of jealous."

Kohaku hopped off of his bed. "Don't mention it, and if you want to we can marathon them sometime when you are over, since we both like slasher films. Sango likes watching them too but only because she finds them more funny than scary."

The conversation between them ended when they saw Sango come out of her room across the hall. She stepped into her little brother's room, careful not to trip over anything weird on the floor. Oddly enough, that wasn't a problem this time around as Kohaku actually cleaned up his pigsty of a room sometime earlier that week.

"I see that Kohaku has shown you his collection; so are you guys ready to go?"

Miroku stood up from Kohaku's bed. His eyes had not left Sango since she walked into the room. He never knew what Sango looked like in shorts until now. If her shorts were any shorter, he would definitely be feeling ass cheek if he was to grope her later. He took another good look at her lower half, with those shapely legs and short shorts, he'd slap _himself_ it if he didn't feel her up at least once today.

Miroku nodded. "Yeah, follow me out to the car."

Miroku opened the passenger door to his Camaro. He lifted the lever on the side of the seat for access to the backseat. Kohaku crawled into the backseat but he found the interior to be really cramped with hardly any leg room.

Miroku turned the key in the ignition. "Kohaku, apologies if it's a little cramped back there, my car lacks a decent sized backseat."

"It's okay, I have plenty of room if I sit this way." Kohaku replied, adjusting his feet to where they wouldn't be trapped under the driver's seat.

Miroku put his car in drive. "Make sure you buckle up back there."

* * *

At the boardwalk, the trio found the arcade to be incredibly crowded. Hardly any of the games were vacant. Rows and rows of quarters lined each arcade game. The line for the air hockey and pool tables wrapped around like a snake with bored teenagers waiting their turn. People's children were running amok and screaming their heads off at the snack bar. Two small children were fighting over a stuffed animal one of them had won from the claw machine, heaven help them if they managed to tear the poor teddy bear's arms off in the struggle. Miroku quickly ducked his head out of the way as a particularly bratty kid standing on a table sent a half-eaten corn-dog flying through the air.

Sango gave him a worried look. "I'm sorry Miroku, I swear it wasn't this crowded last time Kohaku and I were here."

"It's not your fault. Summer vacation started and this place happens to be indoor and air-conditioned."

Miroku glanced over to the Gauntlet arcade game where Kohaku had somehow managed to beat the line for his turn. "Looks like Kohaku is pretty content."

Sango ran to catch up with her brother. "Wait right there Miroku, I need to ask Kohaku something before he gets zoned out in his game."

Miroku waited next to the skee-ball machines for a couple of minutes before Sango came running back.

"So, what did you ask him?"

"I asked him if it was okay if me and you left him alone to his games while we find something else to do on the boardwalk, he said it was fine as long as we come back to pick him up in a couple of hours." She replied.

Miroku was positively elated at her response, this whole time he thought that he would never get alone time with Sango because Kohaku would surely be a third wheel and yet here she was actually requesting his company. For something that wasn't supposed to be a date, it was beginning to feel like one.

"Well, come on what are you waiting for. We better hurry before the rides get too packed." Sango grabbed Miroku's hand, leading him out of the arcade and into the amusement park on the boardwalk.

* * *

After purchasing tickets for the rides, the two of them scoped out the park. Luckily, the lines weren't that long for the tilt-a-whirl and the roller coaster. While on the roller coaster, Miroku found it weird that Sango pretty much stayed silent the entire time as the girl sitting in the car behind them was screaming her lungs off.

The two of them sat down for a minute to people watch on the boardwalk. Sango purchased a stick of cotton candy and picked off small bites at a time with her fingers. As he watched Sango take in the sights of the people that crossed their path. Miroku couldn't help but to take in the sight of her. Goddamn, she was cute. His eyes focused in on her as she took another bite of the cotton candy, watching the sugary confection slide past her pink lips. In that moment he wanted nothing more than to kiss the remaining sugar off those lips.

"So, do you and Kohaku come here often?" Miroku asked.

"Yeah, usually on the weekends when dad gives Kohaku his allowance."

"I gotta say, this is the first time in a long time that I've been here. It's nostalgic."

Sango smiled. "Once again, thanks for joining me. Normally, I just wait for Kohaku to get through with his games at the snack bar."

"Oh, it wasn't a problem at all. In fact, I'm glad that we're getting to spend more time together." Miroku said, as he picked off a piece of Sango's cotton candy.

Sango let out a giggle when Miroku started to hum to a show tune from the musical _Grease _playing from the Boardwalk's PA system.

"Miroku, I never would have guessed that you were the type of guy that likes musicals."

"You would be right, but I have a soft spot for Grease. My mom took me to see the movie when I was a kid and I really admired Travolta's performance as Danny Zuko. Face it, the dude was cool personified. And I figured that if I was cool like that when I became a teenager, I too could get a fast car and a pretty girl."

Sango giggled at his story. "I'd say you already succeeded, I mean you do have the fast car."

Miroku raised an eyebrow at her statement. "You really know how to wound a man's pride don't you?"

Sango shrugged her shoulders as she gave him a smug grin of her own. "I try."

"Do you like musicals, Sango?"

"No, not really. But my mom did. She was always the musically inclined one of the family. Dad always said her singing voice was blessed by angels."

"Your mom sounds like she was a lovely person, you remember her fondly don't you?"

"Yeah, I do." Sango smiled, twirling the empty cotton candy spool in her hands.

"Hey, you wanna go play some games?" Miroku asked as he stood up to stretch his legs.

Sango nodded, pushing a tendril of hair behind her ear. "Sure."

Miroku led Sango to one of the carnival games, this one involved shooting metal ducks with targets painted on them using a bb gun. He noticed Sango staring longingly at a large panda plush hanging from the prize rack. Figuring himself kind of lucky at these games, he went for it. The rocker rolled up his sleeves, cracking his knuckles so he could get a good grip on the gun.

Miroku paid the man behind the stall. "four rounds please."

Unfortunately, it seemed that luck was not on his side when he was down to his last round and only managed to knock down one target.

Miroku sighed, "I guess I wasn't as good as I thought."

Sango tapped him on the shoulder. "Can I have the last go?"

Miroku handed her the gun. "Sure, knock yourself out."

Sango rolled back her shoulders as she readied the gun. "Alright, let's do this."

**PING! PING! PING! PING! **

Sango managed to hit eight ducks in a row with damn near perfect accuracy.

Miroku's mouth went agape at her shooting skills.

"**WE HAVE A WINNER!" **shouted the man behind the stall as he handed the panda to Sango.

Sango hugged the plush panda under her arm as she and Miroku walked to the snow-cone stand.

Miroku paid the vendor for two snow-cones. "Where did you learn to shoot like that, Sango? That was amazing!"

Sango took a bite of her cherry snow-cone. "I started going to the shooting range with my dad when I turned sixteen. I mainly learned so I can protect the house and my family if I'm ever stuck in a scenario where I can't use my fists. You already know what happened to my mom after all."

Miroku mixed the contents of his snow-cone around with his spoon. "I don't blame you, it's a scary world out there, lots of creeps around every corner."

"That's true but I'm not too worried. I'm a second degree black-belt. I know full well how to immobilize a creep if they try anything on me."

"Hey look a quarter!" Sango exclaimed, bending down to pick up a coin from the pavement.

Miroku gulped, fighting tooth and nail to reach out and touch what was right in front of him without her noticing. He retracted his hand from hovering over her ass when she stood back up. _Dammit, I was so close! _

"Something the matter, Miroku?"

He quickly shoved his hand behind his back. "It's nothing, I just had a brain freeze, I guess I ate that snow-cone a little too fast."

"Miroku, can I ask you something?"

"What's on your mind, Sango?"

"I noticed that you always wear a glove on your right hand but not the other one, Is there something wrong with your hand?"

Miroku looked down at his hand. "No, not really. I mainly keep it on because I have a grody birthmark that I'm kind of self-conscious about."

"Can I see it?"

Miroku reached for the velcro fastening of his glove. "Are you sure you want to? It looks pretty bad."

"Of course! I'm sure it's not that bad. I live with a horror movie fanatic, remember? I've probably seen a lot worse."

Miroku removed the fingerless leather glove from his hand, revealing a black mark on the palm of his hand that in a way almost looked hollow.

She traced the outline of the mark with her fingertips. "It looks like some kind of void and yet, its solid. I've never seen a birthmark like this before."

Miroku put the glove back on. "Confusing isn't it? That's why I keep it hidden. Funny thing is I'm not the only one in my family that has it. My dad has it, my uncle has it, my grandfather had it, and his father before him had the mark as well. Dad says the mark has plagued the men of my family for centuries as a remnant of a long-forgotten curse put on one of my ancestors by a vengeful demon."

Sango raised an eyebrow. "Demons? As in like The Exorcist, y'know throw holy water on them and recite the lord's prayer and they turn into a pile of ash?"

Miroku shook his head. "Not those kinds of demons, Japanese demons. Youkai."

"Youkai? Aren't those supposed to be a myth?"

Miroku lit a cigarette from out of his pocket. "Well yeah, now they are. Call me superstitious but I believe at one point and time they existed and were just as real as you and me. Just because something can't be explained, it doesn't mean that it didn't happen, Sango."

* * *

Not too long after the lengthy conversation about mythology and curses, Miroku and Sango strolled around the park a little while longer observing the sights, smells, and people walking around. They rode a couple of more rides like the air-swing and the sky-drop. Sango stopped at the end of the line for the ferris wheel.

"You know, I've always kind of hated these things."

Miroku scratched his head. "How come? I mean you rode the roller coaster and the sky-drop just fine."

"I dunno, I guess I've just always had this silly fear of getting stuck in midair. It's stupid right?"

Miroku held her hand. "I don't think it's stupid at all. We don't have to ride it if you don't want to."

She pulled her hand from his grasp. "No, I want to go on it. Besides, it's a lot less scary when you're riding with someone."

The line dwindled down until it was their turn to ride on the wheel. Sango was the first to step into the seat. Once the wheel started moving upward, she nervously gripped the seat bar of the ride. Her fingers twitched all over the cold semi-rusted iron bar. She couldn't help but gasp when Miroku pulled her close to his body. He clutched her free hand in his, only this time she didn't immediately pull away.

Sango's face flushed bright pink as she tried to wiggle herself free from his grasp. The more she struggled, the tighter he hugged her.

Miroku gave her hand a light squeeze. "I know you're nervous but let's stay like this until the ride is over."

Sango's heart raced ninety to nothing, this was the first time that a guy had ever held her like this. Somehow, it wasn't really awkward at all. She'd only been this close to Miroku twice and the first time was because she cried over her mom, and the second was because she tripped and fell on him. However this scenario felt much different, romantic in a way. Closing her eyes, she nuzzled her head underneath Miroku's chin, hearing that his heart was beating just as fast. The scent of cigarette smoke and sandalwood embedded in his clothing lingered against her nose.

"You smell like cigarettes." she whispered.

"Sorry, I'll make su..."

Sango cut him off. "Don't apologize, I like the smell."

In the heat of the moment, Miroku looked down at her, brushing his thumb against her chin. Her eyes opened as he lowered his lips to hers. Sango's face flushed as she slowly closed her eyes to receive his kiss. Her heart beat faster when she felt his warm breath linger against her mouth. Just when Miroku was about to make contact, the pod jerked from the gravity of the ride and Sango clung onto him once more, forgetting about the kiss that almost happened mere moments ago.

Sango remained in his embrace until the ride came to a halt seconds later. The safety bar on the Ferris-wheel pod lifted up, letting both of them off the ride.

Once they were off of the platform, Miroku playfully nudged her shoulder. "See, that wasn't so bad!"

"I'm still not getting on one of those things without you though." She said, looking back at the ride looming behind her.

Before she could say another word, Miroku embraced her in yet another hug.

Sango squirmed in his embrace. "H-hey just because it was okay back there doesn't mean you can..." Her trail of thought was interrupted by the all-too-familiar sensation of his hand rubbing her bottom.

Sango angrily smacked him with the panda plush, repeatedly. "**How...many...times...do...I...have...to...tell...you...not...to...do...that...you...pervert!"** she yelled, placing emphasis on every word as the panda smacked against his head. The other patrons on the boardwalk stared at their little spectacle, shaking their heads in disapproval at Miroku as Sango stormed off.

"Sango, wait! Where are you going?" he yelled.

"To get my brother, It's almost sundown and we need to get back home." She yelled back at him through the crowd.

"So you're just going to leave me here?"

"I will if you don't catch up to me, slowpoke."

Miroku ran to catch up with her before she beat him to the front door of the arcade. Inside of the arcade they found Kohaku sitting at one of the tables inside the snack bar area. The teen had a sullen look on his face as he sipped away at a large cup filled with Sprite.

"What's the matter, Kohaku?" Sango asked, concerned about the change in her little brother's attitude.

"Someone beat my high-score on Dracula's Revenge, after I spent months trying to perfect it too. Anyways, did you two have fun?"

Sango sat down on one of the stools next to him.

"Yeah, we had fun. So now what do you want to do? It's getting late, so we don't have many options."

Kohaku brought his finger to his chin. "Well, we could always rent a movie and order pizza at the house."

Sango glanced over at Miroku. "Sound good to you?"

Miroku tossed his car keys in the air. "Ready when you are."

* * *

The Camaro pulled up to the parking lot of Rewind Rob's Video. Kohaku was the first to walk in the door as Miroku and Sango trailed behind him. A pale, gangly teenage boy with coke-bottle glasses and mousy, stringy, shoulder-length brown hair stepped out from behind the checkout counter to greet his favorite customer.

"Ah, Kohaku, what doth bring you into mine humble domain at this twilight hour?" the man spoke in a terrible medieval accent.

"Oh hey, Bradley. I'm just here with my sister to pick up a movie."

A glare hit the nerdy cashier's glasses as his acne-scar ridden cheeks blushed red upon hearing Kohaku mention his sister. "Thine sister? You mean Sango is here with you? The divine beauty, Sango?"

Kohaku nodded. "Yeah, she's right over there by the comedy section."

Bradley looked over where Sango was looking at the video cassettes on the wall. He couldn't believe his eyes, such a fair maiden gracing the shelves of his store. Sango, the ethereal beauty. Truly a female worthy of a powerful warlock such as himself. But alas, she wasn't alone as there was a man right beside her with his hand resting on her shoulder. The nerdy man gulped when the stranger turned around. It was worse than he imagined. Somehow that fiend; the breaker of many a maiden's heart, Miroku Hoshima, ensnared his demonic claws into the fair Sango. What on Earth was she doing with that snake-tongued bard, that crook of a magician?

Bradley shook his bony fist. "Hoshima! The incubus must have bewitched her, just like all the other maidens that came before her."

"Yeah, I think they just started dating." Kohaku shrugged his shoulders. "I think he's alright, he's nice to me."

"Foolish mortal!" Bradley declared. "Has the demon, Hoshima, deceived you too? Were you no match for his silver tongue of lies?"

"No, I just think he's pretty cool."

Soon, Sango and Miroku met Kohaku at the counter. She laid down two 3-day rentals. One was some kid's movie about a dog who enters a skateboarding contest, and the other one was a comedy about two nerds who Frankenstein-ed themselves the perfect girlfriend for a science fair project.

Bradley looked down at the films. "Ah, splendid choices, Lady Sango. Then again, that is to be expected of a maiden with fine tastes in cinema such as yourself." He said, wiggling his eyebrows up and down at her.

Sango stood back, giving Bradley a disgusted look. "Thanks?"

"Actually, I'm renting them." Miroku interrupted, throwing his movie rental card on the counter.

"Haven't seen you in a while, Feegan. Still working here huh?"

"Laugh all you want, Hoshima but when my father crosses over to the netherworld, all this shall be mine. And you, you'll still be a second rate magician who sells lies."

Miroku laughed at the nerdy man. "Are you still mad about the tarot reading? Look, I told you that the cards tell you what you already know and predict what may come. It's not set in stone. I can't give you a refund, but I can take twenty percent off your next palm reading."

"You charlatan of a magician! A pox be on all that you have decieved with your false prophecies. I shall never trust you with my coin for as long as I breathe."

Miroku rolled his eyes as he handed Bradley the money for the rentals. "Whatever, Feegan. Just give me my change for the movies."

"Certainly, that'll be $7.88" Bradley said as he opened the register, handing the change back from Miroku's ten dollar bill.

Miroku stuffed the change into his pocket. "Thanks, Feegan."

"I hope you DON'T have a nice night!" Bradley yelled as Miroku and the rest of the group walked out the door.

* * *

Back at Sango's house, empty pizza boxes and soda cans lined the coffee table. Miroku spent the rest of his time at Sango's house sulking because her dad returned home right before the movie started. Not only did Dan manage to eat most of the pizza, he also made sure to sit between his daughter and Miroku on the couch while the movie was on. Miroku rested his chin on his knuckles, brooding because Sango's dad deliberately cockblocked him from her. Minutes later, the rocker found himself conked out on the arm rest.

He'd realized he'd been asleep for the entire first movie when Dan slugged him in the shoulder. "Pay attention to the movie, Hoshima. Look, the dog thinks he can ride a skateboard! Isn't that ridiculous?"

Miroku rubbed the shoulder where Sango's dad slugged him. "yeah, funny."

While her father was busy with his maniacal laughter, Sango craned her body past him to face Miroku. The two of them caught each others gaze as the movie rolled on with a montage scene. Their gaze didn't last long at all as both of them jerked back into their respective seats on the couch when Dan stood up to stretch his arms.

Hours after saying goodbye to Miroku for the evening, Sango tossed the plush panda from her bed up in the air. She stared into the panda's beady blue plastic eyes, wondering why she kept insisting that today had been an outing when she knew damn well that It was a date, her first date at that. Sango's face flushed as she remembered just how close she was to Miroku in the ferris wheel pod. If it wasn't for her being startled, they would have kissed. Sango traced her lips, imagining how his lips would feel against hers. "Is he really the one for me?" She sighed, hugging the panda plush. How much longer was she going to deny the fact that she wanted to be with Miroku? She stared at the picture of her mother hanging on the wall across from her bed. _Mom, if you were here what would you do? I could really use some advice._

* * *

**80's Slang/General Glossary **

**Grody**: Disgusting; sick

**Gauntlet**: 1985 adventure game, pretty much pioneered the typical hack and slash dungeon game.

* * *

****80's Mix Tape: Track 11****

Ratt – Round and Round


	12. Bad Luck, Babe

**Chapter 12 – Bad Luck, Babe.**

June 13, 1986

It was a Friday and Miroku's final day at Silent Pines already came and went. Everything went smoothly on the day before. He arrived on time that morning, did his shift and turned in his key. At last the three months at that place were over, but the urge for Miroku to find something else to do with his time still hung around at the back of his head. At the beginning of June, Billy had called him, telling him about a job opening for a graveyard shift at a 24 hour diner on the edge of town. The timing could not have been any more perfect. Not only was it a graveyard shift but the owner of the establishment happened to be Billy's uncle so Miroku was pretty much guaranteed his weekends off before he even started.

His first week at "Mr. Griddles 24hr diner and Truck Stop" was a lot different than his stint at Silent Pines, although he pretty much did the same line of work, busing tables, cleaning floors, doing dishes, etc. Instead of the Silent Pines clientele of rich people with problems, the clientele at Mr. Griddles was the complete opposite. During Miroku's shift the diner was usually littered with surly truckers, burly bikers from the bar next door, and the occasional crack addict or prostitute looking for some action because they more than likely got shooed away from the Circle K across the freeway. The staff at the diner was relatively small during the graveyard shift as only four other people really worked in that time slot.

First there were the two waitresses Lottie Wilcox and Maria Martinez. Grandma Lottie was an older black lady possibly in her mid sixties and the only thing scarier than the the sarcasm coming out of her mouth when taking orders, was the mole she had on her chin. She loved her grandchildren though and always made sure to pop out a gigantic roll of pictures from her purse even when the subject at hand didn't call for it. Her husband, Izzy was often a regular guest in the mornings along with the grandchildren.

Maria however, was a much younger, buxom, woman in her mid twenties with wavy raven black hair and a tan most women would kill for. Even though Miroku thought that Maria was really pretty and genuinely nice, she was kind of ditzy. You couldn't really joke with her because nine times out of ten she wouldn't get it. Maybe it was a cultural thing as Maria was Salvadorean and spoke with a heavy accent. As air-headed as she seemed on the surface, maybe she was smarter than he gave her credit for as she purposely wore the blouse of her uniform a size too small to rake in more tip money from perverts. It wasn't uncommon for Maria to rake in hundreds of dollars in tip money per shift, much to Grandma Lottie's dismay.

Then there were the two cooks, Al Greene and Grigori Popovich. Al was a tall, bald, muscular, middle aged man who was a Navy cook in his younger years. Al was a lot like Hector, in the sense that there was nothing negative about the man at all. Al always seemed to be in good spirits with everyone, even though he looked like he could kill a man with his bare hands if he wanted to. He had a steel plate in his head from his Navy days and a lot of nautical tattoos inked on his body. His favorite being a topless mermaid tattoo nicknamed "Shirleena" on his upper right arm that "danced" when he flexed his muscles.

Grigori was about the same age as Al, albeit a couple of years younger, give or take. Grigori was a former soviet sous chef who had came to the US with his eldest son in the seventies. Surly and disinterested in the world around him, he cared about nothing but his cooking. Grigori was one of the fastest cooks Miroku had ever seen although sometimes he wished that the man would put out the cigarettes when he was cooking on the stove, not only because of the health hazard but because Grigori never seemed to notice when stray ash fell on the food. Then again, considering the late-night clientele at Mr. Griddles nobody really seemed to care.

Today however, was one of those particular weekends that Miroku had off from Mr. Griddles and for a good reason too; Tonight Gladius would be playing at The Meridian. For weeks, it had been nothing but practice for all four of the band members. Their jam sessions were so crucial that the members of Gladius that had jobs used up vacation and sick days just to have extra time to practice. It was a double edged sword for Miroku, because on one hand he was excited about finally scoring a decent gig, but on the other hand he wanted it to be over because frankly, the man was exhausted. Between the graveyard shift at Mr. Griddles and precious daylight being pissed away for Silent Pines and band practice, he was completely worn out. Miroku's schedule had been so chaotic that he hadn't even had time for his daily phone call with Sango. It had been nearly two weeks since they had spoken at all to each other over the phone. Hell, he didn't even have time to go to her house either and every time she showed up at his doorstep, he was never there. Sango understood that Miroku was super busy but that didn't stop him from feeling like he was letting her down with his hectic schedule. Summer just started and Sango would leave for college at the end of August, making the time that they could set aside to enjoy each others company all the more important.

Miroku silently thumbed the strings of his guitar. It was quiet in Jimmy's garage. Maybe a little too quiet, seeming as all four members of the band were exhausted from continuous rehearsals. Practice was especially hard on Andrew and Stony as both of them fell asleep while still holding their respective instruments. Who could really blame the guys though since they woke up with the roosters that morning. Miroku yawned, wondering where the hell Jimmy was with the coffee he said he was going to get half an hour ago. Surely the mini-mart couldn't be that crowded, it was 7:05 at night for Pete's sake! Then he remembered that it was also Friday the thirteenth so maybe Jimmy got into a little bit of trouble on the way back.

Soon enough, Jimmy walked into the garage juggling four large Styrofoam coffee cups in his arms. He handed each band member a cup of coffee, thumping both Stony and Andrew in the head to wake them up.

Miroku blew on his steaming cup of coffee. "What took you so long? The Mini Mart wasn't that crowded was it?"

Jimmy plopped on the couch. "Nah, the store was fine. Hey, do you remember Kristin Yates? I kind of ran into her outside of the store."

_So that's what took him so long._ Miroku smirked upon realizing that's why Jimmy took his sweet ass time to get back. Kristin was a girl from their high school graduating class whom Jimmy had a thing for her back in the day although, he never seemed to muster the courage to ask her out. Miroku thought it was odd that Jimmy never got with her because like himself, Jimmy was a serial skirt-chaser.

"Yeah, I remember her. She was the cute redhead that drove the moped right?"

Jimmy nodded. "Yeah. That would be her."

"So what happened? You finally bone her or something?" Miroku asked, swishing coffee around in his mouth to cool it down.

Jimmy laughed. "No, If I did that her meathead husband would kick my ass into the next town over. I just can't believe she got married so fast and now she's pregnant too. Dammit, this happens every time I fall for a redhead."

"Well, maybe you just weren't meant to eat fire crotch?" Miroku said, nonchalantly.

While Jimmy was busy yapping about his encounter, Stony was making a racket trying to break down his drum kit for storage in the onyx van out front. Miroku rushed over to help him carry the pieces of the set and the rest of the instruments out the garage door. Stony unlocked the back door the the van, carefully placing each part of his drum set in one by one.

Miroku climbed into the van, placing the amps and the last of the instruments into the cab. "That about does it. Hey Stony, is there anything that we are forgetting before we head off?"

Stony shook his head. "Not that I can think of. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to need some help transporting Andy off the couch, you know nothing wakes that guy up once he's conked out."

Miroku grabbed Andrew's feet as Stony grabbed the shoulders. Carefully, they hoisted Andy off the couch and into the van's backseat. Andrew woke up when Stony accidentally bumped his head on the window. The man rubbed the sore spot on his head, immediately falling back asleep afterwards. Miroku settled himself into the front seat of the van. He glanced at Stony and Andrew in the backseat. "Hey Stone-man, Andy doing okay back there?" Miroku asked.

Stony punched Andrew in the shoulder.

"OW!" Andrew whined, still half-asleep.

"Yeah, he's fine. But he should seriously go see a doctor or something, his sleep patterns are all fucked up."

Miroku looked out the window of the van. Jimmy stood on the porch with his mom, arguing about something. Miroku groaned, wishing Jimmy would hurry up because at the pace things were going, Gladius could be disqualified from the competition. Jimmy ran towards the van, sliding into the driver's seat. "Sorry about that, my mom was being a pain in the ass. Everything cool in here?"

"Just start the fucking van, Jimmy." Stony grumbled while lighting a cigarette with his lighter.

Jimmy started the van, nearly hitting the mailbox on his way out from the driveway. Miroku yawned, perhaps Andy had the right idea to nap it up before they had to get on stage. He fell asleep, only to be woken up minutes later when his head thunked against the window when Jimmy hit some potholes in the road while driving.

* * *

Meanwhile, a few blocks down, Sango ran her hand over the shiny metal of her new car. Even though she got the car a month ago as a graduation gift from her dad, she still couldn't believe that the semi-new Trans-Am was finally sitting in her driveway. Cherry red, the color she always dreamed her new car would be. The inside even had that new car smell, even though most of the smell was absorbed by her "ocean breeze" Hawaiian lei air freshener by now. She worked with her dad for years to save up for this car and now it was hers. All those summers of crappy jobs and birthday money finally paid off, although her dad footed a little more than half of the bill. Police auctions truly were a magical thing. Without the low auction price she wouldn't have been able to afford the car at all. Sango kissed her index finger and placed it over the hood of the car before she stepped back inside of the house to meet back up with Kagome and Kohaku.

When she entered her bedroom, she saw that Kohaku was on her personal phone line with someone. How many times did she have to tell him to stay out of her room before he got the message? Sango crossed her arms. "And just what do you think you're doing in here?"

Kohaku grinned. "Nothing, I was just answering the phone while you were outside making goo-goo eyes at your car. By the way, this call is for you, it's Riley on the other line."

Sango grabbed the phone from her little brother. "Hey Riley. What's up?"

"Hey Sango, long time no talk. So how have you been?" Riley asked.

"I've been doing just fine, I got a new car recently. Trans-Am as a matter of fact."

Riley squealed. "Omigod that is so bitchin' Sango! If we were still in school you would be the envy of every girl at Saint Catherine's!"

"So is there a reason why you called? You usually just show up to the house."

"Actually Sango, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out with me tonight. I'm kind of bored and I want to go to a nightclub but It's weird to go alone. Wanna join me, I promise It will be fun..."

"You know I don't really do the club scene, besides what will I wear? I don't have any club appropriate clothes. It's a generous offer Riley, but I must decline."

"It's not _that _kind of club Sango, It's a rock lounge. Y'know watch a live band and sit around and drink and junk. Getting all gussied up is completely optional but you may want to do it if you want someone to buy you drinks. Come on, I'll even help you get ready."

"Well, I guess it could be fun. But what about my friend Kagome? Can she come along too?"

Riley scoffed. "Of course, Sango. The more people, the better! I'd invite Amy too but she's on a date."

"All right then, I'll..."

Riley cut her off. "Great! I'll be at your place in no time at all! We're going to have so much fun!"

Sango sighed as she heard the dial tone through the phone. _What have I just gotten myself and Kagome into? _

Sango hurried into the living room where Kagome had her nose in a mystery book. She tapped the girl on the shoulder.

"Oh hey, Sango. Didn't notice you came back in." Kagome said, closing the book.

"Hey Kagome, do you have any plans for tonight?" Sango asked.

"No, not really. Why?"

"My friend from St. Catherine's, Riley, just invited me to go with her to a show at a club downtown. I was wondering if you'd like to come along?"

Kagome pressed her index finger to her chin. "Hmm, while I'd love to join you two, I'm afraid I can't."

"Why not?" Sango asked with a puzzled look on her face.

"I'm only seventeen, and even if I had a driver's license or an ID, there's no way I'd be able to get in because I'm not eighteen yet."

Sango felt like smacking her own head at her oversight, she completely forgot that Kagome was a year younger than her. "Oh, that's right. I totally forgot. Forgive me, Kagome."

Kagome giggled. "It's not a problem at all, honest. Besides, I think I should give Larson a call anyways. I'm feeling hungry and Sota mentioned that the cook made Lasagna for dinner tonight.

Within five minutes, the Rolls Royce pulled up behind Sango's car in the driveway. Sango gave her friend a goodbye hug. "Bye Kagome. I'll see you later!"

"Have fun at the club, Sango!" Kagome yelled, as she got into the car.

* * *

Shortly after Kagome left, Riley arrived at Sango's doorstep with a huge makeup case in her hand and a backpack slung over her shoulder. She was already dressed up in her outfit for tonight. Sango knew that Riley had a quirky fashion sense but she had no idea what the hell her friend was wearing, it was like some kind of strange roaring twenties meets mime getup. New Wave fashon was something Sango did not understand at all even though she loved the music, especially when it involved dreamboats like Adam Ant and Morrissey.

"So, when do I get to meet this friend of yours?" she asked.

Sango sighed. "Unfortunately, Kagome couldn't join us. I totally forgot she's seventeen and can't get into the club without a fake ID."

Riley sat down her makeup case. "Bummer, and here I brought my full makeup case because I wanted to work on both of you."

Playfully, Riley pushed Sango into the bedroom. "Anyways, hurry up and take a shower! I have the perfect hairstyle in mind for you!"

When Sango stepped out of the shower, she was surprised to find that Riley already took the liberty of choosing an outfit for her. Even more surprising was that the outfit was really cute.

"You mean to tell me that I had _that _in my closet?!" Sango exclaimed, pointing at the outfit on the bed.

Riley nodded. "Yup, and the best part was that I didn't have to do any sewing whatsoever. You're so lucky you can wear just about everything. I'm totally jealous. Most of my clothes are either thrifted or made by hand because well, you know, my big boobs and all.

Riley pulled a large sketchbook out of her backpack, showing off a detailed fashion sketch of Sango's complete outfit.

"See, this is the look! with your long hair, you can pull off an ethereal bohemian look perfectly. It's feminine, yet über chic at the same time!"

Sango sat down at the foot of her bed, her hands folded in her lap as Riley worked on her hair. Once her outfit was complete and the hair and makeup all done. Sango took a look in the mirror. Riley wasn't kidding about the bohemian look. Sango's braid was loose but elegant with lightly curled tendrils of hair framing her face. She almost didn't recognize herself without her ponytail when she looked in the mirror. And the dress Riley rescued from the heap in the closet was absolutely gorgeous! Sango originally bought the flouncy off-white lace sundress for her cousin's wedding in Hawaii but it sat in the back of her closet for almost two years because she didn't know what else to do with it. To finish off the dress, a brown macrame belt sat loosely tied at her hips. She took another long look in the mirror, admiring the dress and how it effortlessly tied in with her hairstyle and sandals.

"Wow, Riley. I can't thank you enough!" Sango exclaimed as she twirled some of the loose tendrils of hair around her index finger.

Riley smiled at her friend. "Don't mention it. Now come on, it's time to go. So whose car are we going to take, Mine or yours?"

Sango grabbed her keys from off of her side table. "I guess we will take mine, I've been meaning to drive a little more now that I actually have a car."

"Whoa, sis. You look amazing!" Kohaku exclaimed as Sango and Riley walked into the living room.

Kohaku turned his attention back on the TV. "So where are you two headed all dressed up and junk?"

"Out, tell dad I will be home shortly when he comes home."

Kohaku nodded. "No problem sis, just don't get into any trouble okay. It is Friday the thirteenth after all."

"I won't and make sure you lock the door while I'm out." Sango yelled, shutting the front door behind her.

* * *

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Sango asked Riley upon arriving at the front door of The Meridian. The crowd outside and inside of the small venue was nothing like her friend's crowd at all. Riley was into new wave and goth rock. The people gathered in front of them were dirty, crusty, metalheads, just like the burnouts Miroku hung around with.

Riley fanned herself with her bowler hat. "I swear Sango, this place is not usually like this. Must be some kind of event going on."

Sango tore one of the yellow flyers off of a light post. "Well, there's your answer. It says **Metal Mayhem****.**"

Riley snapped the flyer away from Sango's hand. "Let's see if I can recognize any of these bands. Iron Heart? Nope never heard of them. Cataclysmic Hellspawn? never heard of them either. Gladius.."

Sango's eyes widened. "Wait, Riley what was that last band's name?"

Riley looked down at the flyer in her hand. "Gladius, but I think they misspelled Gladys. Wait do you know them?"

"Kind of...well I know their guitarist. You remember my friend Miroku right? Well, Gladius is his band."

"So, are we going in or what?" Riley asked, preparing to pay the man at the door for two tickets for the show inside.

Sango followed suit, trailing behind Riley as they entered the blackness of the venue. Sango coughed, the inside of this place was foggy and hard to see and it smelled like the inside of Jimmy's garage. She and Riley quickly scoped out the lounge for a vacant table with a view of the stage. They noticed one of the female bartenders clearing some hi-ball glasses off one of the tables just right of the stage.

"Excuse me Ma'am, is this table vacant?" Sango asked.

The bartender nodded. "It is now, is there anything I can get you two ladies started on?"

Riley was the first to answer as she handed the bartender her fool-proof fake ID. "I'll have a strawberry daiquiri, blended please."

The bartender handed the ID back to Riley, focusing her attention on Sango. "And for you miss?"

"Oh, just Pepsi will be fine." Sango responded.

Sango and Riley looked around the venue. Sure enough, the two of them stuck out like sore thumbs. Not only because they were surrounded by hundreds of metalheads but because there were hardly any other women in sight. The women that were around either looked like total bimbettes or they were barely distinguishable from the male patrons. Sango coughed again, this place was certainly not her idea of a "lounge" club. With the loud guitar wails coming from that Iron Heart band, the smell of pot lingering in the air and the patrons shoving each other and pumping their fists in the air, she was way out of her element. Riley on the other hand seemed to be enjoying herself as she fist pumped with the rest of them. And once Iron Heart left off the stage, Riley cheered with the rest of the patrons in the lounge.

"You know what, those guys weren't that bad. That one song about the wood witch was great!" Riley chirped.

Sango had to agree with her, Iron Heart wasn't bad at all but Miroku's band was far better, at least based on what she heard from the demo tape. Sango watched as Iron Heart cleared the stage for the next band on the lineup. She noticed Jimmy and Stony step out from behind the back-stage to set up the amps and a couple of other pieces of equipment. That could only mean one thing, Gladius was next to play. Sango ducked her head behind her hands when she saw Miroku and Andrew come on stage to tune their guitars. Every member of Gladius looked different. The clothing they had on was a little flashier than normal, with spikes, leather, and chains galore. Jimmy was obviously the flashiest out of the members, opting to wear only a leather vest instead of a shirt, though he still wore his skin-tight jeans. Stony had his long black hair teased up to where it cascaded in a puffball reminiscent of a child's barbie doll whose hair had been brushed way too little, and Andrew conveniently looked the most normal out of the four as there was nothing really eye-catching on him at all.

Sango felt her mouth go dry when she peeked her head up to see Miroku's getup. Like Jimmy, he also wore a leather vest covered in spikes and chains. Underneath his vest was a ridiculously tight black tank top. He had on his signature bullet belt as well, hugging equally tight distressed jeans, followed by a pair of boots that had more buckles on them than a strait jacket. His hair was loose and slightly teased to where it looked like it had lots of volume. Sango's cheeks blazed red as she gawked at his form onstage. She wondered what it would feel like if he jumped off of the stage to pick her out of the crowd to whisk her away somewhere private where they could...Before she could even finish that thought she slapped her hand to wake up from her trance. It didn't work as she still found herself drinking in the sight of him onstage like a thirsty jackal. For a girl who claimed she wanted nothing to do with bad-boys, in that moment, all Sango wanted to do was throw herself at one.

Riley snapped her fingers in front of Sango's face. "Hello in there, earth to Sango? Anybody home?"

Sango snapped out of her trance, focusing on Riley. "Huh? What?"

Riley giggled. "You've been staring at your guy friend for over five minutes, rather lustfully I might add."

Sango slumped into her seat, covering her face with her hands once again. "Someone just shoot me now."

"It's okay Sango, you needn't be embarrassed. I don't understand though, if you like him and if he likes you then why aren't you two more than friends?"

Sango sighed. "It's complicated. He's never asked me out and I don't want to ask him out because I'll be going away soon and everyone knows long distance relationships don't work. I don't want to hurt him and I don't want to hurt myself either. Deep down, I think he feels the same way."

Riley took a sip of her drink. "That's harsh. So what do you plan to do, the tension must be killing you."

"That's just it, I don't know." Sango replied, her face once again cupped behind her hands.

"This may seem kind of weird to ask, but do you ever find yourself like I dunno...craving his touch."

Sango froze, embarrassed at the question. Sex was the last thing she wanted to think about. Especially now, when she was trying to shoo away her lustful thoughts, all the while the little nagging voice in the back of head showed no signs of letting the subject go. _You owe it to yourself to be honest._

"Yeah. And honestly, those feelings. Well, they've gotten worse. Sometimes I feel so hot inside thinking about him that I can't even sleep. I just don't know what to do and It's driving me crazy."

Riley gasped. "You mean you've never masturbated before?"

Sango nearly choked on her drink. "M-masturbate? To thoughts of him? No way!"

"I don't know why you object to it so much, It's perfectly natural for women to flick their bean to release tension. I mean it's so easy all you have to do is..."

"Stop! I get it. Thanks for the advice and all but I'm ready to drop the subject."

Seconds later, the lounge went dark for Gladius' performance. The lights dimmed on the stage as blacklight glow and fog enveloped the rest of the venue. Sango kept her eyes focused on the stage during the entire performance, paying special attention to Miroku. Upon the stage he was in his element. She had never seen him so driven and focused. It was like onstage he was a completely different person. He wielded his guitar with immaculate precision, like it was the mighty sword of a heroic knight. Fitting that his band was named after a sword. Even though Sango was never really into heavy metal, she did have to admit that Miroku had serious talent. Hearing Gladius live was ten times better than the quality on the demo tape. Sango felt her heart jump in her chest when she thought he had taken notice of her in the crowd. She let out a sigh of relief when she realized that wasn't the case as he kept on playing.

"So this is Gladius?" Riley yelled, so that Sango could hear her between the ear-splittingly loud music.

Sango nodded. "Yep. All four of them, and FYI watch out for the blond guy on the mic. He's a shameless lech and will probably try to ask for your number after the show."

Riley took a closer look at Jimmy. "I wouldn't mind that. I think he's cute. Totally my type too."

Sango raised an eyebrow at her friend's questionable taste in men. "You can't be serious?"

Riley giggled. "What? Did you think you were the only one into metalheads?"

* * *

After Gladius' performance was over. Sango mentioned to Riley that they should probably get back to her house since It was getting late. Unfortunately Riley had other plans to stick it out and watch the last band perform. Unlike Gladius and the previous band, these guys were absolutely terrible. Sango covered her ears as their guitars shrieked and wailed. Finally, the show was over and the winner of the competition was announced. The members of Gladius went on stage with the three other bands, but only they came out victorious. Sango's face blushed upon seeing Miroku hold the check in his hand. He looked so happy, so carefree in that moment that all Sango wanted to do was rush the stage to give him a hug and if she was bolder, that damn kiss that always seemed to slip past her. Unfortunately, she didn't put her plan into action in time, and the members of Gladius went backstage again. Sango sighed, _Guess I'll just congratulate him later. _Just when she and Riley were about to leave the bar, they were stopped by Jimmy who just got done talking to a reporter from a local arts and entertainment 'zine.

Jimmy leaned against the doorway to the bar. "Hey there Sango! I thought I saw you out there in the crowd! I thought Miroku said you weren't going to come to tonight's show?"

Sango shook her head. "I wasn't planning on coming tonight at all, nor did I know you guys were playing tonight. Miroku mentioned an upcoming gig but I never really pried into it. I'm only here because my friend Riley dragged me here because she didn't want to come alone."

"I did not _drag _you here Sango. You came on your own free will." Riley scoffed.

Sango noticed Jimmy eyeing her quirky friend up and down. His gaze brazenly stopped at Riley's buxom chest. "Sango, who's your friend?" he asked.

Sango sighed as she introduced her friend to Jimmy. "Jimmy this is my friend Riley O'Brien, Riley this is Jimmy."

"O'Brien huh? You wouldn't happen to be related to Neil and Eric O'Brien would you?" Jimmy asked.

Riley nodded. "They're my older brothers."

"Ah, so you're the 'baby' sister they constantly mentioned back in high school."

Riley gave him a dimpled smile. "Yup, that would be me, the baby of the family."

Jimmy kissed Riley's hand. "A pleasure to finally meet you, Miss Riley. It's always a delight to meet new fans, especially ones as bodacious as yourself."

Riley blushed. "Thank you and nice vocal work out there. Heavy metal is not really my cup of tea but you guys were fantastic."

Sango let out a fake cough. "Are you two just about done yet with the introductions?"

Jimmy wrapped his arms around both of the girls. "Not quite. Say, how about you two fine babes follow me backstage to see the rest of the guys. Especially you Sango, I'm sure it would mean the world to Miroku to know that you showed up to support him tonight."

Sango lifted Jimmy's arm off of her shoulder. "It's tempting but Riley and I have got to go. I left my little brother home alone and I don't feel right staying out too late."

"Oh come on, Sango. Don't be such a stick-in-the-mud, Kohaku is probably fine." Riley pouted, shamelessly clinging to Jimmy's arm.

Sango rolled her eyes. "Fine, lead the way Jimmy."

* * *

Miroku sat backstage, chugging away on his beer. The night had been an absolute success. Gladius won the five hundred dollars in prize money and they totally rocked the house, receiving the most crowd cheers out of all three of the finalists. It was at that moment that he wondered what Sango was up to. He would've loved it if she showed up to watch him but he knew the chances of her being at a place like Meridian at nearly midnight were slim to none. Then again, it seemed like his chances to get with her were fading fast as well. As much as he wanted her, did she really want him in return? It seemed like she wanted him, but if she did then why didn't she at least kiss him or something? Hell, even a peck on the cheek would've been substantial enough. If only Sango had been just a little more forward, he wouldn't have this dilemma. Or maybe, it was himself that was the problem? Perhaps, he wasn't the one being forward enough with her. He told himself at the beginning he wanted to take it slow, but was taking it slow really worth it for a girl that wasn't even a sure thing? Besides, he never even formally asked her out to begin with so she wasn't even his in the first place, despite how he longed to take her in his arms and claim her as his. Jimmy's comment about how she'd eventually get a rich, perfect, pretty-boy of a boyfriend while at school played back in his head. The thought of another man bedding her infuriated Miroku. Maybe he wasn't quite ready to let her go as he previously thought. Although, deep down he knew if he stopped pursuing her, it'd be for the best, for both of them if they just stayed platonic friends. And with that, he felt his heart ache once more.

Miroku sat his beer aside. This was supposed one of the crowning moments of achievement for his rock career thus far and yet, all he could think about was Sango. Ever since he started to pine over her back in April, Miroku completely disregarded other women. Months had passed since the last time he engaged in sexual activity and it felt like he was beyond pent-up. As he tried to rid himself of the Sango problem invading his thoughts, he glanced over at Stony and Andrew. Both men were making out with some girls they let backstage after the show. God, how he wished he was in their position.

Then Miroku noticed the ultimate distraction. Another girl stood on the sideline as her two friends made out with Andy and Stony. A Virginia Slim cigarette sat between her ruby-red pouted lips. Miroku took a long, hard, look at the girl as she exhaled a puff of smoke. This girl was; no pun intended, smoking hot with teased up bleach-blonde hair and sun-kissed skin. Miroku noticed that she had a pretty bangin' figure too, with large breasts and a tight rear end, smaller than Sango's perfect posterior, but still sexy nonetheless. Her boobs were obviously implants but he didn't care because the way she rocked that tube top and skin-tight vinyl leggings combo was enough to set his loins into overdrive. He walked over to the girl, amping up his charisma and charm to their maximum level. Immediately, the girl responded by putting out her cigarette and Miroku found himself back on the couch with the babe straddling him. Her breath reeked of alcohol but then again, he'd been drinking as well. Before he leaned in to suck face with the girl, it wouldn't be polite if he didn't get her name first.

"So, babe. You got a name?"

"Sindy." The girl responded with heavy lids. "And that's Sindy with an 'S' to put the emphasis on _Sin_." she said in a low, seductive, tone as she brought Miroku's gloved hand to her vinyl and spandex covered ass.

Miroku made a smug, self-satisfied smirk as he gave the girl's posterior a hard squeeze. "Is that so? Well Sindy, I'm Miroku and I know all about sin."

* * *

Sango held her nose when she entered the backstage area. It reeked of booze and other foul odors she couldn't quite make out. Also, it was extremely cramped and kind of drafty. _This is what people pay extra money for at concerts? What a sham! _

"Hey Miroku! Look who I found in the crowd!" Jimmy hollered, playfully shoving Sango in front of him.

Sango felt the flames of jealousy rise within her body when she saw what lied in front of her. There was Miroku sitting on one of the couches back-stage with a half-naked bleach-blonde bimbette straddled on his lap. Sango's eyes narrowed on Miroku and the skank in front of her as the loose girl clung on to him like a jungle gym, petrified with fear at Sango's wrathful stare.

"Kyaa! Miroku, she's scaring me." The bimbette shrieked, nuzzling her face into his chest.

Miroku nervously gulped, beads of sweat trickled down his face. Sango? What on Earth was she doing here? Furthermore, why didn't she tell him she'd come to his show beforehand? Miroku panicked. _Shit, this looks bad, really bad._ He'd known for quite sometime that Sango was the jealous type when it came to his womanizing ways but until today he only really put up with minor glares or the occasional cold-shoulder from her. This was different though, Sango was seething with fury unlike any other outburst he had ever seen from her. She was terrifying, as if some kind of malevolent spirit had taken over her angelic form, hellbent on taking him out first. _What's with that aura, why isn't she saying anything?_

Miroku Hastily pushed the dead-weight damsel off of his lap, only to have the silly girl cling to him once more.

"Let's go Riley. We're leaving." Sango snarled, clenching her fists at her side.

She looked over at Riley who didn't say anything. Riley apparently wasn't paying any attention to Sango's little spat. Her friend was more interested in making bedroom eyes at Jimmy as he ran his fingers through her ginger locks.

"Have I mentioned I have a thing for redheads?" Jimmy asked Riley, showing no signs of stopping his flirtatious behavior anytime soon.

Sango yanked her love-struck friend away from the infatuated rocker. "let's go, like now."

Riley sighed. "Sorry Jimmy, I gotta go with her, she's my ride home. I'll call you later."

Miroku finally managed to make it out of the backstage area. He bolted out of the front door to stop Sango and Riley before they left the venue, catching up to the girls just before Sango made it to her car in the parking lot.

Miroku grabbed Sango's hand. "Sango, wait. I can explain."

Sango jerked her hand away from his grasp. "Don't touch me! Whatever excuse you have I don't want to hear it Miroku."

"Dammit, Sango! Just listen to me!" Miroku pleaded.

Sango motioned for him to come closer to her.

Miroku let out a sigh of relief, thinking that she was going to give him a chance to explain himself.

Unexpectedly, Sango pulled him by his shirt collar. She coyly trailed her cold fingertips across his chest, then she moved her face in super close to his, as if to kiss him. "Miroku could you do me one teensy little favor, could you..."

"Yes, my Sango." he murmured under his breath, fully expecting their lips to touch. His eyes were closed and his lips were puckered, so he didn't notice Sango step away from him.

"**Roast in Hell, you sleaze!"** Sango screamed as she roundhouse-kicked him onto the pavement. Miroku's eyes snapped open as he fell flat on his back with a thud.

While Miroku was rubbing his jaw from where her foot had struck him, Sango peeled out in the Trans Am, drenching him with runoff water from the curb.

Now completely soaked with the filthy water; Miroku could only sit back as he watched Sango's car speed off into the street. Jimmy ran from across the parking lot to help him up off the ground. "Shit man, what happened? You're fucking soaked!"

Miroku shoved Jimmy aside, not even saying a single word to his band-mate. Angrily, he stormed into the back of the van, locking the doors from the inside to make sure he wouldn't be disturbed. He rubbed his bruised jaw again, finding himself lucky that Sango hadn't managed to knock any of his teeth out, or himself for that matter with that hard ass kick of hers.

"_Roast in Hell, you sleaze!"_ Sango's spiteful words looped over and over in his head. Miroku didn't even want to think about how much he hurt her. He fucked up. He fucked up big time. And the worst part of it all was that after she kicked him to the ground, Sango looked like she was about to cry.

* * *

**80's Slang/General Glossary: **

**Bitchin-** Means totally awesome.

**Adam Ant – **A British new-wave artist who was popular in the 80's and early 90's.

**Trans Am- **A sports-car made by Pontiac motors. If a single car defined the 80's as a decade, this would be it.

**Morrissey - **Another British hard rock/new wave artist who was popular in the 80's. Mostly known for his crooner tone and somewhat depressing song lyrics.

**Bimbette- **Bimbo variation

**Flick the bean- **Term for female masturbation.

* * *

****80's Mix Tape: Track 12 ****

Dokken – In My Dreams


	13. Miroku's Resolve

**Chapter 13 – Miroku's Resolve**

June 14th, 1986

Sango stared longingly out her bedroom window. She sat on her bed, hugging her knees close to her body. It had been nearly an entire day since her fight with Miroku and yet, he was all she could think about. All day the phone in her room had been ringing off of the hook with him on the other line. Sango didn't know how it happened but the moment she saw him with another woman, something inside her snapped. She'd known about Miroku's lecherous tendencies for quite some time now. Yes it annoyed her to no end how he would brazenly flirt with random women in her presence, but even so she would usually get over with it and go about her day. There was no use in getting angry because when it was all said and done she was just Miroku's friend. Sango wasn't his girlfriend, despite how much she longed to be. For a while she took solace in the fact that he probably wanted to be with her as much as she did with him. She could see it in his eyes, the way he looked at her, the way he laughed at her corny jokes, and the smiles the two of them would share together. And then there was his embrace; when he held her in his arms it felt as if the world stopped spinning just for the two of them. But if Miroku truly cared about her in that way, then why did he stomp on her heart like it was a decrepit pile of dog-shit? Unless, he didn't care about her feelings at all. Sango wasn't stupid, she knew from the beginning what he wanted from her, she wouldn't give it to him fast enough so he found another girl who would.

Tears welled up in her tired eyes. Despite how much he had hurt her, she couldn't bring herself to outright hate him even though she wanted nothing more than to shove any thoughts of him away into the deepest recesses of her mind. Miroku wasn't for her, he was a playboy, a lech, a womanizer, he could never be faithful to her. If Sango did give herself to him, whose to say that he would even stick around? The thought of being seen as nothing more than a cheap plaything devastated her. Was she really just a conquest to him and nothing more?

At that moment, her thoughts were interrupted by the phone ringing on the hook for what seemed like the thirtieth time today.

Sango answered the phone. "Go to Hell, Miroku!" she yelled into the receiver, slamming the phone back on the side table.

The phone rang once more, she picked it up again. "What did I tell you about calling here? GO AWAY!"

"Sango honey, is everything alright over there?"

Sango let out a sigh of relief when she realized it was her dad on the other end and not Miroku.

"Yeah dad, everything is fine. Are you about to come home from the station?"

"Yeah, I'm just about to leave. I had to cover a route for one of the rookie officers. Is there anything you want me to pick up for you on the way home? I need to stop by the drugstore to get some cough drops, I think I'm coming down with something." he responded.

"Ice cream would be nice. If they have the kind with M&M's in it, get that for me okay."

"Alright sweetie, I'll pick you up a pint on my way home."

"Thanks, daddy." Sango said softly as she hung up the phone.

Sango curled up on her bed, realizing she'd barely gotten any sleep since the incident, probably four hours at most. Every time she would try to doze off, the damn phone would ring, nine times out of ten Miroku was on the other line. She had to give him credit for one thing, the dude was persistent but there was no way in Hell she would forgive him any time soon. Her dad used to tease that she was a lot like her late mother because when she was angry, she was ANGRY. Her mother's rage was legendary in her family. Sango reminisced on some of her childhood memories of her mother. It wasn't often when her mom was mad at her dad but when she was on the warpath, everyone had to run for cover. Otherwise they would all have to eat takeout for a week. When her mom was really mad at her dad she would play heinous pranks on him like gathering all of the dirty clothes and dishes, piling them in the bathtub to make sure that his morning routine was delayed by filthy clothes and food bits in the shower. Sango wondered if she was married, would she follow a similar act if her spouse pissed her off? She felt her eyelids getting heavy with sleep once again so she brought her blanket over her head. Under the cozy comfort of the blanket she noticed the beady blue plastic eyes of the panda plush she got with Miroku at the pier staring back at her. Frowning, she grabbed the panda and chucked it at the closet door.

Instead of hiting her intended target, the panda plush smacked her dad upside the head when he walked in to bring her the ice cream she requested earlier.

Sango quickly sat up in her bed. "Sorry dad, I tried to aim that thing at the closet."

Her dad picked the panda off of the floor, placing it back on her bed. "Sango, care to tell me what's wrong? You haven't left your room since last night. I'm getting kind of worried." He asked, handing the small container of ice cream and a spoon to his mopey daughter.

Sango sat both of the items on her side table, trying to hide the fact that she had been crying. "It's nothing dad, I'm fine. Honest. You don't need to worry about me."

Her dad embraced her in a hug, "Sango, you can tell me anything. It's my job as a father to worry about my children so please, tell me what's wrong."

"I had a fight with Miroku last night. I just don't know what to do, I want to forgive him but I'm having a hard time finding a reason why I should. Dad, he's supposed to be my best friend and I don't even want to look at him because if I do then I wind up back where I started."

Officer Sato sighed. He knew this was bound to happen but he never expected it to happen to _his_ little girl. Sango was stronger than that. She was a lot like her mother; extremely strong willed, preferring to use actions rather than words to solve a problem. As much as it pained him to admit, his little girl had done the one thing he as a father was not prepared for. Sango had fallen in love.

How it all happened, he didn't have a clue. Growing up, Sango was never the type of girl who was boy-crazy. He lost count on how many times he got a phone call from the principal's office during her elementary and middle school years because she managed to beat the tar out of some nasty little boy who tried to pick on her. Sango didn't love boys, she kicked their asses, that was how it always was...at least until now.

It was no secret that Sango's dad loathed Miroku Hoshima, his daughter's so-called 'best friend'. The guy was utterly useless, he had no ambition nor any useful skills. Unless you counted smoking dope as a useful skill. Frankly, he was a lazy good-for-nothing bum. Dan Sato had been a police officer for nearly twenty years, he knew full well what men who acted like Miroku were; losers, every single one of them. Definitely not good enough to date his daughter, and marriage? Over his dead body! He saw the way that punk looked at her and the way she reciprocated his gaze. There was no doubt about it, he knew full well what those looks meant. Sango liked that asshole, she liked him a lot. Why she would love someone like Miroku of all people remained a mystery to him. All Dan knew was that if that bastard hurt his baby girl in any way there would be hell to pay.

Dan placed one of his hands on his daughter's forehead. "Sango he didn't hurt you did he? Do you have any bruises, let me see your face."

Sango moved her dad's hand off her forehead. "Dad I'm fine. In fact I probably hurt him, I was so angry at Miroku that I roundhouse kicked him in the jaw."

Dan tried to contain his laughter. _That's my girl. _

"In the jaw huh? That's a pretty tough spot to hit."

"I don't know what came over me when it happened. I was so mad at him that I didn't know what else to do."

"Well, you are your mother's daughter."

Sango tore into the pint of ice cream with her spoon. "Dad, what was it like when you first realized that mom might have been "the one", did it scare you?"

Dan laughed. "Scare me? Honey, when I first realized that I loved your mother it absolutely terrified me! When we were children, she used to tease me all the time. At first I thought she hated my guts because of the way she would bully me. She would pour sand down my shorts and one time she even filled my shoes with centipedes. I still have a scar on my foot from one of the bites that never quite healed right. When Sayuri wasn't tormenting me, she was very pleasant to be around. She was clever, she was funny, and she was the only girl I ever truly befriended. It wasn't until we were teenagers and she started dating your uncle Manta that I realized that I had feelings for her."

"Mom dated Uncle Manta?" Sango questioned. Finding it funny how neither her dad or her uncle never mentioned it before.

"For a long time actually. They even planned on getting married someday. I was furious that your mother chose Manta over me. I had known her longer, she was my best friend, not his. One day, I drove her out to the beach so we could do some surfing. As I listened to her gab on and on about my perfect, prodigy, of an older brother, something inside me snapped and I ended up confessing the entirety of my feelings for her on the spot."

"I'll never forget the look on your mother's face when she heard my confession. She practically grabbed me off of my surfboard, slapped me in the face and then she kissed me. Turns out, all of the torment she had put me through when we were kids wasn't because she hated me, it was because she was in love with me."

He ran his hand over his daughter's cheek, wiping away a stray tear. "feel any better now? Looks like the waterworks have just about dried up."

Sango nodded. "Thanks daddy. I think I know what I need to do."

Her dad tousled her hair. "That's my girl! But first things first, you should probably get some sleep. I'll go ahead and leave you alone now." Dan said, picking up the half eaten pint of ice cream off the side table to put it back in the freezer in case his daughter wanted more later.

Once her dad was gone, she pulled the blanket back over her head. She would deal with the Miroku problem later. Right now all that mattered was getting some sleep.

* * *

Miroku sighed, hanging the phone up yet again. It was no use, Sango was never going to answer his call. The one time she did answer, she was just as angry as she was last night. He leaned back onto his wall, sinking down to the floor. In the time since he got home earlier that morning he rarely left his room; one time to get an icepack for his sore jaw and another time to take a shower to get the hairspray out of his hair from the night before. He deserved the kick in the face after what he did, how could he have been so careless? Miroku knew that Sango had feelings for him, so why on Earth did he think it was a good idea to disregard them? Sango wasn't like the other girls that he had 'relations' with. Namely because she was his friend, his best friend. She wasn't some random girl that he could just pump and dump. That's not to say that he didn't find her extremely attractive. Just even imagining what she would look like nude was enough to make his mouth water and his pants tighter. To him, Sango was more than just a pretty face and a smokin' hot body, she was the complete package. Sango was smart, witty, athletic, strong-willed, and the way she often blushed at him was enough to make his heart feel like it was going to burst.

Despite the countless amount of women Miroku fooled around with since puberty, the concept of romantic love was something he had zero experience with. Sure, he loved his parents, his little sister, and there was no doubt that Jimmy was his brother from another mother. As for Sango, while she was his friend, there was always something more to her. Throughout his adolescence, Miroku never confessed to a single girl. Sure he had the occasional crush, but love? That was completely out of the question. There had been girls that _loved _him, and lots of them. Heck, girls have fought each other over him! When he was in high school, girls would constantly stuff love notes in his locker, sappy poetry, and even things like their underwear, hoping that he would notice them. Miroku wasn't popular in high school because he played sports or was involved in student politics. He was popular because he was a rebel without a cause who knew how to exploit a girl's weakness.

Miroku knew it was no secret that throughout the ages women loved the so called 'bad-boy' type. From the James Deans of yesteryear to the rock-stars of today, women have been willing to spread their legs for a man with a devil-may-care attitude and a charming smile. Did it make him an asshole? Most likely. He knew he was a selfish prick who wanted to squeeze life's lemons so hard that only the pulp remained. Miroku was a womanizer because he liked the thrill of the chase, and of course the prize at the end of each chase. Sex gave him a rush far better than any drug ever could. When he first met Sango at Silent Pines, he knew full well that he would try to chase her down. When he finally caught up with her and the more time he spent with her, getting to know her on a personal level, he realized Sango was the one for him. Love, there it was again. What he felt for Sango went beyond infatuation. He loved her. But would he ever tell her those three words he never fathomed would come out of his mouth? Only time would tell, but before that could happen, she'd have to forgive him first.

Miroku grabbed his wallet from off of the stereo side-table. Inside of the plastic sleeve that held his driver's license resided Sango's school photo. He carefully wedged the small photo out from behind the license. He remembered telling her when she gave him the photo that he liked it a lot, although she insisted that she looked weird. That was the thing that confused him about her, no matter how many times he would flirt with her or tell her how beautiful she looked, she would always insist that she was just 'average'. He chuckled. "Average". That word had no business coming out of her mouth, there was nothing average about her at all.

He placed the photo back into it's respective spot in the wallet. Miroku looked out his bedroom window, It was already pitch-black outside. For a minute it crossed his mind that he should probably get some rest but he didn't feel tired at all, despite only sleeping for a couple of hours that morning. Miroku shrugged his battle jacket on his shoulders as he headed downstairs and out the front door.

If there was one thing Miroku loved about his neighborhood at night, it was the quietness. So far his night walk therapy was working just fine. He loved the chill of the salty sea air that wafted in from the beach and the sound of the crickets and katydids chirping in the darkness. The moon shone bright that night, dimly lighting him on his path as he trekked block after block. He stopped walking when he almost passed up Sango's house on Pomona street. Deadpan, he stood in front of the house from the center of the street. The lights were off in her house, save for a faint blue glow of a TV screen that was most likely from Kohaku on one of his all-night video game binges.

"What am I doing here, she doesn't want to see me." Miroku groaned as he headed in the opposite direction of Sango's house. He stopped again when he saw more faint light peeking out from the gaps in the wooden fence that led to her backyard. His body froze in place when he heard Sango's voice say something along with splashes from the pool within said backyard. Noticing that the back gate was left wide open, he ventured inside.

* * *

Sango sat at the edge of the shallow end of her family's in-ground pool throwing plastic diving sticks into the deep end. Even though it was past midnight, it wasn't too terribly muggy. In fact it was kind of perfect for a night swim. For that reason, she had her old lifeguard swimsuit on underneath her baggy sleep shirt and shorts in case she actually did feel like jumping in later. She threw another diving stick into the pool, watching the ripple effect the object made when it broke the water's surface. Underwater lights illuminated the otherwise dark pool so she could see where the diving sticks landed in the crystal clear water. Sango leaned back on the concrete with her arms behind her head, her eyes closed as she splashed around some of the water with her feet.

"Plan on going for a swim, Sango?" A familiar voice rang in her ears. Sango quickly opened her eyes to find Miroku bent over her with his usual cocky, arrogant, grin plastered across his face. _Great, now the asshole is stalking me. _

Sango quickly scrambled to her feet, her fists clenched at her side, ready to strike if he didn't explain himself immediately. "What the hell are you doing here Miroku?"

"Well you kind of left the gate open and you never answered my calls earlier so..." Miroku said, pointing to the open gate.

Sango got close to his face. "You're a real creep, you know that!"

"Only towards you my dear Saaan-go." He teased, flicking the wing of her nose with his index finger.

She angrily smacked his hand away from her face. "Cut the crap Miroku! Why are you here?"

Miroku took off his shoes and socks, setting them aside. He sat down at the edge of the pool. His feet dipped under the water's surface, soaking the bottom half of his jeans. Sango sat down next to him with her arms crossed.

"Well? I'm waiting..."

Miroku let out a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Sango. I'm sorry I hurt you."

Sango unfolded her arms. She was happy that Miroku had apologized but also confused at his sincerity. Usually, he would try to lie his way out of a situation like this with some kind of half-assed excuse, and yet the tone of his apology felt genuine. Sango sighed, maybe it was time to forgive him since it was obvious that the tension between them was killing her just as much.

Sango fidgeted with her hands. "You don't have to apologize. If anything I'm the one who should be apologizing to you for kicking you in the jaw. I over-reacted and I'm sorry. I should have just let it go. I mean it's not like we are dating or anything."

"Sango, you needn't make excuses for me, I know I did you wrong and I'm sorry. I shattered your trust in me, in all fairness I deserved that kick in the face." he objected.

"It's okay, really. Just don't let it happen again. You're not the most trustworthy or the brightest around women y'know. What if that girl were to press rape charges on you after the act? Drunk sex is considered coercion. If you were convicted you would be classified as a registered sex offender and you would get jail time considering that it wasn't..."

Miroku placed his hand over hers to shut her up from her insistent babble.

Sango blushed when his hand made contact with hers. "Your first offense..."

"I appreciate the crash course in consent laws Sango but you're not being honest with yourself, you were upset because you have feelings for me."

Sango covered her crimson cheeks with her hands. "W-what are you saying. You're my friend I couldn't possibly..."

Miroku sighed, she definitely wasn't going to make this any easier with the blatantly obvious denial of her true feelings for him. "Sango, even if you won't tell me your feelings. Will you at least hear mine out?"

Sango nodded, her heart beat wildly in her chest. This was it, the moment of truth.

"Sango, you are not like her or any other woman. You are so precious to me that I couldn't bear to even think about the way I had hurt you like I did last night. You see, I've never had such strong feelings for a girl like you, or any girl for that matter before, so I panicked. I pushed you aside because I didn't want to hurt you, even though it all backfired and I ended up hurting you anyways."

"The reason why I never asked you out was because I felt like If you were with a guy like me, I would only hold you back. Sango, you have your whole life ahead of you. You're going to a top-tier college for crying out loud. You have goals and ambitions that you need to fulfill. Whereas I only have delusions of grandeur."

Sango stood up, trying to hide the tears streaming from her face again. "It's okay, Miroku. I understand if you just want to be friends. It will be like it's always been right?"

"Sango, I..." Miroku tried to interrupt her.

"I knew you weren't serious, you said it yourself. I never thought you'd actually like me in that way. No, nothing like that." She walked towards her back door. "Thank you for being honest with me. I'm going back inside. Do me a favor and lock the gate on your way out."

"Sango, I wasn't done yet." Miroku continued. "Even though you're going to college soon and we will be far apart for months on end. I still want to give us a shot. That is, if you'll have me. Will you allow me to go steady with you?"

Sango paused, her fingers hovered lightly over the knob of her back door. She smiled, wiping away her tears so she could turn to face him.

"Yes! You big dummy!"

"Really? You will?" There was something akin to pure astonishment in his voice. Miroku walked over to her, he grabbed her by the hand, embracing her in a loving hug. "Sango, you have no idea how happy I am right now."

Sango slowly returned his embrace by snaking her hands around his back, feeling the intricate stitch-work of his hand-sewn vest patches.

"Of course there would be some provisions to dating me of course. Understand that you are not to flirt with other women, and even though we are officially dating now, don't grab my ass in public but you can..."

Before Sango could finish her oral contract, Miroku brought his thumb under her chin, interrupting her with a soft kiss on the lips.

He pulled back from the kiss, smirking. "Did anyone ever tell you that you talk too much?"

Miroku looked down when he felt her tug at the shoulders of his battle jacket. Her nimble fingers gripped the lapel as she slid the garment down his shoulders.

"Uh, Sango. Not that I object to it or anything but what are you doing?"

Sango tossed Miroku's battle jacket on the porch swing by the back door. "I don't think you would want to get that vest of yours ruined by what I'm about to do."

"Oh, and what's that?" He smirked, not realizing he was dangerously close to the edge of the pool.

Sango placed her hands upon his shoulders. "This."

Before he knew it Miroku landed in the pool with a loud splash. He brushed his now wet bangs out of his face only to notice Sango taking off her shorts.

"Sango, I never knew you were so kinky." Miroku remarked, moving to the concrete edge of the pool.

Sango then removed the oversized nightshirt, revealing a red hi-cut one piece swimsuit underneath it. "What? It's just a swimsuit."

She crouched down to face him, looking slightly annoyed. "You thought I was gonna skinny dip didn't you, pervert?"

"Party Pooper." Miroku splashed her in the face, sticking his tongue out at her.

"That's it, you're dead!" Sango laughed as she cannonballed into the deep end of the pool.

While Miroku was busy taking off his wet band shirt at the shallow end, Sango snuck up behind him. Grabbing his ponytail, she brought him down with her. When the two of them rose to the surface she splashed him in the face. "Now we're even."

Miroku's gaze locked onto hers as he moved in closer to her. Sango couldn't look away from his intense stare. She didn't know what he had planned behind those steely indigo eyes, all she could do was wait for his response.

Miroku grabbed Sango by the thighs, pulling her body against his. He murmured her name under his breath as he moved in for another kiss, this one slightly more forceful than last time but still pleasantly soft nonetheless. Sango parted her mouth slightly as he ran his tongue over her lips. Instinctively, his tongue invaded her open mouth. Sango's eyes opened at the sudden feeling of his tongue stroking hers. It didn't feel bad, just different. Miranda had once told her that making out with guys who smoked tasted like licking an ashtray. Miranda was wrong on that one. She closed her eyes again as Miroku worked his magic on her mouth. Suddenly, the strange feeling of his tongue rubbing hers started to feel good, intensely good. Her face flushed with excitement.

Sango brought her hands to Miroku's chest, feeling the warmth radiate from his bare skin. Then she moved her arms behind his neck to hold him closer, her legs wrapped around his torso under the water. She made a gasp in the back of her throat when his hands moved from her thighs to cup her butt. Instead of slapping him like she usually did, she let him feel her up to his heart's content as her body was completely enraptured by his touch. She broke the kiss when his hands moved from her butt to her breasts, all the while his mouth moved to her neck as he licked, kissed, and suckled at the skin where her neck met her clavicle. This was the first time he'd ever gone for her boobs. At first she didn't know what to think of it until his hands got to work by kneading her breasts on top of the slippery fabric of the swimsuit. She let out a small but sharp moan when his fingers lightly clamped down on her nipples through the swimsuit.

Miroku's tongue entered Sango's open mouth again as he continued to paw at her chest. Goddamn, her boobs were fantastic. Not only were they incredibly soft and pliant, they were also sensitive as all hell too. As much as he wanted to take her right then and there, he stopped himself before getting too carried away. Now that Sango was his girl, he'd have plenty of time to make love to her later. When he broke away from the kiss. Sango's face was still flushed. She pulled back from his embrace when she felt something hard poke her leg. Did this mean he had...a? Her entire body went red upon confirming that yes, Miroku had indeed gotten a stiffie from making out with her. Her eyes darted back and forth to his crotch. "Uh, Miroku...your..."

Miroku looked down at the pitched tent in his jeans. His cheeks flushed pink. _Well, this is unfortunate._ "I'm sorry Sango. I guess I got a little too excited."

"Does it take a while to go down?"

"No, not really. Um, is there a toilet nearby?"

"Yeah, there's one in the pool shed." She pointed while her other hand shielded her eyes from his junk as he climbed out of the pool.

"Thanks, I'll be back in a few." He reassured her, sprinting in the direction of the pool shed.

* * *

After taking care of his awkward problem, Miroku sat beside Sango on the edge of the pool once again, his arm wrapped around her shoulder while her head leaned against him.

Sango moved her feet around in the water. "You know, I'm glad."

"About what?" Miroku asked.

Sango smiled, her cheeks flushed a rosy pink. "I'm glad that my first kiss was with you."

"You mean you've never kissed anyone before? I find that hard to believe."

Sango shook her head. "Nope you were my first. I've never had a boyfriend before tonight either."

Miroku chuckled. "I already knew that, Sango."

Sango looked at him, dumbfounded. "Wait, how did you know that I've never had a boyfriend? I never told you about it."

"Kohaku told me."

"Oh, and what else has he told you?"

Miroku cocked his head up. "Let's see, he told me that you slept with a stuffed koala named Koko until you were fourteen, your favorite food is spaghetti, and you have a beauty mark just above your left buttock that you're self-conscious about"

Sango's face scrunched into a scowl. "Why that little...I can't believe he told you about my butt freckle."

"Have I told you lately how cute you are?" Miroku spoke softly as he kissed the back of her hand

"No, but I have a feeling I'll hear it a lot more often." She replied with her lips curled in a bashful smile.

"Damn right you will." Miroku remarked as he rose up from the edge of the pool. He grabbed Sango's hand to help her on her feet as well.

Miroku gazed up at the sky. At this time the sun began to rise, changing the pitch-black night sky into a deep smokey purple-gray. "Looks like it's almost dawn. Guess I got here pretty late last night."

Sango stretched her arms, letting out a big yawn. "Yeah, I think I better head inside. I didn't get much sleep yesterday and I'm still feeling out of it."

Sango picked her wadded-up pajamas off the ground. She slid the shorts and sleep shirt over her damp swimsuit. Miroku followed suit by putting his battle jacket and shoes back on. He stopped Sango right before she tried to open the back door to her house.

"Oh Sango, aren't you forgetting something before I leave?" Miroku asked, making a kissy face with his index finger pointed at his lips.

Sango opened the door and stepped inside. She poked her head out the doorway. "Don't press your luck. Goodnight Miroku."

"You wound me babe!" Miroku joked, feigning an injury to the chest.

Miroku watched as Sango shut the door behind her. In seconds she was out of his sight at least until he walked past her bedroom window, not before noticing the silhouette of her curvaceous body moving about behind the mini-blinds. He walked some more, stepping past the gate to the back fence. Following Sango's orders he locked the gate by standing on his tiptoes to move the lever from the inside.

* * *

As he walked the path home, Miroku grinned like a hyena. He traced his lips with his finger thinking back to the kiss that he and Sango shared in the pool. Her lips were absolutely divine, plush and soft to the touch. Far better than he ever imagined. He still couldn't believe that was her first kiss and that it was with him nonetheless! Though he knew Sango was a virgin, he never expected her to be a kissless virgin. Considering most normal eighteen year old girls have at least kissed somebody once. Then there was that swimsuit Sango wore. Oh sweet Buddha that swimsuit! The way the red spandex hugged her body was enough to make him...Well to be frank, it already happened.

Still feeling giddy about the entire event, Miroku walked around the last block before he reached the street with his house on it. He happily hummed the tune to "Keep on Loving You" by REO Speedwagon. Even though he was the type that would eat, breathe, and sleep heavy metal, Miroku had a soft spot for what he affectionately called 'radio rock'. Miroku stopped humming the tune. Instead, opting to outright sing it, not even caring one damn bit about how much of a goofball he looked as he belted out the chorus down the dimly-lit street.

_"AND I'M GONNA KEEP ON LOVIN' YOU _

_'CAUSE ITS THE ONLY THING I WANNA DO..._

_I DON'T WANNA SLEEP _

_I JUST WANNA KEEP ON LOVIN' YOU"_

Miroku stopped singing when he heard something growling behind him. Killer, a Rottweiler that terrorized the neighborhood dogs managed to escape from its backyard yet again. Miroku gulped as he bolted towards his house with the dog closing in behind him, barking and snarling. He let out a huge sigh of relief when he finally made it to his front porch. As he carefully creaked open the front door to remove his shoes. Chieko was already waiting for him in the living room. She looked fairly angry that her son was out until dawn and suspiciously dripping wet.

"And just where have you been? It's four in the morning!" she scolded.

"Sango's house. Tell dad to thaw out the good steaks for dinner tonight. I'm bringing her over."

Chieko uncrossed her arms. "It's about time you two started dating. Papa and I were getting worried that you were stringing the poor girl along."

"Yeah, and by the way mom. There's one more thing before I go to bed."

"Well, what?"

A faint blush spread across Miroku's cheeks as he nervously brought his hand to the back of his head. "I may not say it much but, I appreciate the way you and dad put up with my bullshit. I know I'm not the best son in the world, so thanks. I really mean it."

Chieko walked over to her son, embracing him in a hug. "Just hearing that from your mouth is all I need to know that you're a good son. Now go on, it's late and you should get out of those wet clothes."

"Thanks, mom."

After taking a quick shower, Miroku threw on his boxers and a dry t-shirt. Even though hours passed since he and Sango made it official, his heart and mind still raced with thoughts of her. He still couldn't believe that she said yes. All this time, he skirted around asking her out and yet when it was over and done, it felt too surreal. She didn't even slap him when he felt her up in the pool. That body of hers, Holy shit, that fantastic body of hers. His fingertips tingled as he remembered how good it felt to touch her body through the swimsuit and his mouth watered thinking about how much better his fingertips would feel caressing those milky tits if he yanked down the straps to touch her bare skin. Miroku cradled himself against his longest pillow as he muttered the words. "Sango is my girlfriend." trying to get used to the sound the word 'girlfriend' made as it rolled off his tongue. Elated, Miroku leaned back into his bed, but not before Shiro jumped on his legs. He let out a loud yelp as he tried to get the heavy dog off him.

Inuyasha, in the room next door banged on the wall. "Oi, Elvis. Keep it down in there, I'm trying to sleep!"

Miroku shrugged his shoulders as he let out a big yawn, it seemed like it was time for him to conk out as well. His mind wandered as he dozed off, thinking how much better it'd feel if Sango was the one lying next to him instead of the dog.

* * *

****80's Mix Tape: Track 13 ****

**REO Speedwagon – **Keep On Loving You


End file.
